The Swings

There was one ride that Alexis liked at Kennywood. She probably rode the thing about five times. One of those times led to the most amazing parental bonding I have ever seen.

Ever been out and public and encountered That Kid? You know, the one that is out to ruin everything for everyone? He's the one that's running, jumping, screaming, and generally carrying on. If you say don't touch it, he punches it. If you ask him to sit still, he starts running circles around you. If you tell him to "Shhh . . ." he yells, "Screw you!" The biggest problem is that clearly he isn't old enough for you to just deal with him yourself. So you look around for a parent. SHOCK! There isn't one anywhere in sight. A little bit of the mystery surrounding why this kid is likely to become a resident of the State penitentiary before he ever attends first grade is now a little clearer, but that still doesn't fix the problem. His actions are having a direct impact on YOUR kid and it needs to stop.

That Kid was on the swings with Alexis and Peyton. Fortunately for me, Alexis was fifteen feet away. Unfortunately for Peyton's Mom, That Kid was directly behind Peyton. Kicking him. Over and over again. So Peyton's Mom turns to me and we start discussing the little punk. It only takes a second for all the other parents to join in on the discussion. First, there's Cautious (aka Tattle-Tale) Mom. "I would say something. You really should say something. They should stop him." Then there's Everything Can be Solved with Violence Dad. "I would kick his little butt." And let's not forget the Sweary McCusserton Parents. "Knock it the *bleepity bleep bleep* off, you little *bleepity bleep bleep*." Solidarity at it's best. Eventually all the kids got loaded up and the swings started so that the little weasel couldn't reach anyone else. But I strongly suspect that kid had a whole lot to do with why Peyton only wanted to ride the swings that one time.