"YOU GOTTA LOVE 'EM; WELL, SOMETIMES"

You know me by now. You know I love kids. Of all ages. But...

On our recent travels, I was wondering what the next generation is going to be like. Man, we saw some bad kids. And bad parents.

On the ship they have a heckuva deal. Unlimited soda if you pay a one time fee. And the kids were stocking up. Of course, there was more than adequate sugar on the buffet line, chocolate buffet, midnight buffet, self-serve ice cream and yogurt machine, etc, etc. And the kids were stocking up.

They had a couple of pools, a climbing rock, and an arcade. They were all used, especially the arcade. Even on the brightest, sunniest, yet pleasantly cool days, sounds of the arcade could be annoyingly heard as ou walked near. A glance would reveal several kids sitting on top of the foosball table. Just talking.

Another sport they had, unsanctioned, but nonetheless practiced was hall running. And cruise ship halls are long but not wide. Also, it didn't matter if it was early morning or late at night. Just run loudly.

On the plane home we were sandwiched between three rows or more of bratty kids. Running in the aisles was also practiced and accepted on this Southwest flight. For at least 30 minutes, the 3 year-old in front of me ran, walked, climbed, crawled all over the plane while her inattentive father read a magazine, never once even turning around to see where she might be. Finally a flight attendant asked if he would help out and keep her in her seat. That worked. For about 15 minutes. Even when the plane had landed and was taxiing, she was out of her seat and walking around the plane. While three others squalled, apparently in unison, apparently wanting to enjoy the same freedom.

Not once the whole trip, and I haven't even addressed the worst kid I saw on a bus excursion, did I see a parent try to discipline other than to say,"You need to sit down." When that didn't work, it was like, "I tried, but what are you going to do?"

I don't know exactly when the turn around began and parents lost control. Not that we ever had control, but a semblance of making them behave. Maybe about the time it was deemed spanking was child abuse.