Cars and Tents and Roads...Oh...Manic

Quick little post here.

For this year’s family reunion in Georgia, Mariah and I are going to drive out and back.

Yes…we are driving and the kids will be flying. Ain’t no way I am driving 5,000 miles with all that fighting and pushing…hell no.

Anyway, we will be leaving Los Angeles towards the end of June and driving (pretty much the whole way) along the 10 freeway. Through Arizona, New Mexico, Northern Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee.) For the return in early July, we will be touring around a bit through the southern states (Savanna-GA, Mobile-AL, Baton Rouge & New Orleans-LA, Little Rock & Fort Smith-AR, Oklahoma City-OK, Amarillo-TX, Santa Fe-NM and then heading over to the Grand Canyon.

*** and we will be camping the whole way (in tents…with drinks and campfires…well..no fires in the tents.)

Well at least that is roughly what we are planning.

Here is what we need from you all.

If any of you have suggestions of places to see, cool campgrounds or things to do along our route…PLEASE LET US KNOW!
Additionally, If any of you live anywhere near our route and would like to have a few cold beers or a glass of wine…and meet us….PLEASE LET US KNOW!

We are kind of doing this trip blind and will get to where we get to. Mariah is not letting me …do my thing and make charts and lists and all that shit. So please….I AM BEGGING FOR YOUR HELP HERE.

Parents are F'ing Up Their Kids

When I think back to my childhood and what TV shows I watched. I find it funny how different things are today…with the ratings, parental controls and people lobbying against shit that really would not make a difference if kids had better parenting.

Overall…I think it is all about the parenting…not what kids see or watch on TV.

When I was a kid, I watched:
Cartoons including; Underdog, The Shmoos, Scooby Doo, The Flinstones, Bugs Bunny Road Runner Hour and Sylvester and Tweety
As well as; the A-Team, Land of the Lost, Eight is Enough, Hawaii Five-O, Hardcastle and McCormick, Beretta, CHIPS, Dukes of Hazard, Planet of the Apes, Starsky and Hutch, etc.

These days…I don’t know that parents (in general) would allow young kids to watch those shows….well, with the exception of Eight is Enough and a few of the cartoons. I saw something years ago that named the Bugs Bunny Road Runner Hour and Sylvester and Tweety two of the most violent shows on TV. WTF?!

I guess I just don’t know why parents are not taking responsibility for their kids…and are just throwing the blame for their fucked up kids on TV and the entertainment industry. My feeling is that a kid (for the most part) can watch whatever …as long as the parents do their job teaching the child right and wrong, respect, and that they can talk with them about anything…the kid will be fine.

We don’t (again…for the most part) sensor anything that the kids watch and if they are watching something that is disturbing to them or that they don’t understand…we are there to openly discuss it with them.

I think that it is the kids that can’t (for whatever reason) talk to their parents and are left home in front of a TV with nobody teaching them about life…or the kids who's parents are so over protective that they can't do shit without mommy hovering and making all of the decisions...those are the ones who end up with the big problems.

PARENTS!!!!!! Schools don’t teach kids respect, honor, right and wrong and morals. They don’t reinforce the ‘family first’ mentality that I think all people should be taught. They don’t teach about peer pressure, gangs, the laws, how to communicate with parents.
THAT IS YOUR JOB!!!!

Stop blaming everyone else for your inability to spend quality time with your kids, communicate with them and teach them what they need to know to have a good life.

I propose we put a ban on sheltering children and fine parents who blame others for their kids fucking up or being complete sissies!

Memorial Day Long Weekend

So, over the past week I have had the luxury of spending some quality time with all of the kids and just about every one of them has amazed me…in one way or the other.

On a drive home I was asked, “oh, is that your news building?” as we passed the FOX building. I replied, “Yes, I think it is.” Then “Oh, yep…it is…I can see the satellites on the roof” billowed from the back seat. Immediately following that came, “Who invented the Internet?” I responded with “I think it was a group of guys…” Not allowing me to even finish the statement I was hit over the head with, “yeah…the old TVs you had to touch…the new ones you use a remote.”
Being that I could not piece together the thought process behind this string on random statements that came out as a conversation…I just sat there and nodded (with a confused look on my face.)

Next…at a Caribbean restaurant, while we were waiting for our food, I was asked….”Are you getting the corn on the cock?” I quickly replied, “Corn on the COB? Yes. I did order corn on the cob. (I could barely hold in the laughter.)

I was also told, in the not so distant past, that with our new FiOS TV service, that we can ‘INCESTaneously’ get movies for free. (I believe that she was trying to say instantaneously.)

Well….the list goes on and on…I’m sure you get why I question the Santa Monica school system.