MYSPACE: 
A Must Read for All 

After 
tossing her books on the sofa, she decided to grab a snack and get on-line. 
She logged on under her screen name ByAngel213. She checked her Buddy List and 
saw GoTo123 was on. She sent him an instant message: 


ByAngel213:
Hi. I'm glad you are on! I thought someone was 
following me home today. It was really weird!

GoTo123:
LOL You watch 
too much TV. Why would someone be following you? 
Don't you live in a safe 
neighborhood? 

ByAngel213:
Of course I do. LOL I guess it was my 
imagination cuz' I didn't see anybody when I looked 
out.

GoTo123:
Unless you gave your name out on-line. You haven't 
done that have you?

ByAngel213:
Of course not. I'm not stupid you 
know.

GoTo123:
Did you have a softball game after school 
today?

ByAngel213:
Yes and we won!!

GoTo123:
That's great! 
Who did you play? 

ByAngel213:
We played the Hornets. LOL. Their 
uniforms are so gross! They look like bees. LOL

GoTo123:
What is 
your team called?

ByAngel213:
We are the Canton Cats. We have tiger 
paws on our uniforms. They are really cool. 

GoTo1 23: 
Did you 
pitch?

ByAngel213:
No I play second base. I got to go. My homework 
has to be done before my parents get home. I don't want them mad at me. 
Bye!

GoTo123:
Catch you later. Bye 

Meanwhile.......GoTo123 
went to the member menu and began to search for her profile. When it came up, 
he highlighted it and printed it out. He took out a pen and began to write 
down what he knew about Angel so far. 

Her name: Shannon
Birthday: 
Jan. 3, 
1985
Age: 
13
State where she lived: North 
Carolina

Hobbies: 
softball, chorus, skating and going to the mall. Besides this information, he 
knew she lived in Canton because she had 
just told him. He knew she stayed by herself until 6:30 
p.m. every afternoon 
until her parents came home from work. He knew she played softball on Thursday 
afternoons on the school team, and the team was named the Canton Cats. Her 
favorite number 7 was printed on her jersey. He knew she was in the eighth 
grade at the Canton 
Junior High 
School . She had told 
him all this in the conversations they had on- line. He had enough information 
to find her now. 

Shannon didn't tell her 
parents about the incident on the way home from the ballpark that day. She 
didn't want them to make a scene and stop her from walking home from the 
softball games. Parents were always overreacting and hers were the worst. It 
made her wish she was not an only child. Maybe if she had brothers and 
sisters, her parents wouldn't be so overprotective. 

By Thursday, 
Shannon had forgotten 
about the footsteps following her. 

Her game was in full swing when 
suddenly she felt someone staring at her. It was then that the memory came 
back. She glanced up from her second base position to see a man watching her 
closely.

He was leaning against the fence behind first base and he 
smiled when she looked at him. He didn't look scary and she quickly dismissed 
the sudden fear she had felt. 

After the game, he sat on a bleacher 
while she talked to the coach. She noticed his smile once again as she walked 
past him. He nodded and she smiled back. He noticed her name on the back of 
her shirt. He knew he had found her. 

Quietly, he walked a safe 
distance behind her. It was only a few blocks to Shannon 's home, and once 
he saw where she lived he quickly returned to the park to get his 
car.

Now he had to wait. He decided to get a bite to eat until the time 
came to go to Shannon 's house. He 
drove to a fast food restaurant and sat there until time to make his move. 


Shannon was in her room 
later that evening when she heard voices in the living room.

'Shannon, come here,' her father 
called. He sounded upset and she couldn't imagine why. She went into the room 
to see the man from the ballpark sitting on the sofa. 

'Sit down,' her father 
began, 'this man has just told us a most 
interesting story about you.'

Shannon sat back. How 
could he tell her parents anything? She had never seen him before 
today!

'Do you know who I am, 
Shannon 
?' the man 
asked. 

'No,' 
Shannon answered.

'I am a police officer and your online 
friend, GoTo123.'

Shannon was stunned. 
'That's impossible! GoTo is a kid my age! 
He's 14. And he lives in Michigan 
!'

The man 
smiled. 'I know I told you all that, but 
it wasn't true. You see, Shannon 
, there are people on-line who pretend to be kids; I was one of them. But 
while others do it to injure kids and hurt them, I belong to a group of 
parents who do it to protect kids from predators. I came here to find you to 
teach you how dangerous it is to talk to people on-line. You told me enough 
about yourself to make it easy for me to find you. You named the school you 
went to, the name of your ball team and the position you played. The number 
and name on your jersey just made finding you a breeze.' 


Shannon was stunned. 
'You mean you don't live in 
Michigan 
?'

He 
laughed. 'No, I live in 
Raleigh 
It made you feel safe to think I was so far away, didn't it?' 


She 
nodded.

'I had a friend whose 
daughter was like you. Only she wasn't as lucky. The guy found her and 
murdered her while she was home alone. Kids are taught not to tell anyone when 
they are alone, yet they do it all the time on-line. The wrong people trick 
you into giving out information a little here and there on-line.. Before you 
know it, you have told them enough for them to find you without even realizing 
you have done it. I hope you've learned a lesson from this and won't do it 
again. Tell others about this so they will be safe too?' 

'It's a 
promise!'

That night Shannon and her Dad and Mom all knelt 
down together and thanked God for protecting Shannon from what could have been a tragic situation.

 

*****NOW****

EVEN 
FORWARD THIS TO PEOPLE WITHOUT KIDS SO THEY CAN SEND IT TO FRIENDS THAT DO 
HAVE CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN 

Stupid Parent Tricks is a segment that David Letterman will  never have on his show.  The Stupid Pets Trick segment probably keeps his staff more than busy enough --- they couldn't possibly handle the volume that they would surely be inundated with, if they resorted to the low hanging fruit of Stupid Parents.

Of what seems to be endless controversy in the media, and the topic of discussion around the water coolers and latte machines is how our kids now are supposedly doing much worse in school than their predecessors  - how they are becoming obese couch potatoes - how they are oversexed and violent - how they dis-respect their  teachers and other authority figures --  on and on, ad nauseum ..........

Part of the controversy is whether these perceptions about our kids are true --- some of which I believe are, while others I believe not --- with the other part of the controversy being What is (are) the cause(s)?

In the Spirit of David Letterman's Top Ten Reasons segment, I am going to do a Top Ten on Stupid Parent Tricks.  I will spread this out over the next several months of postings.

As part of this Thread of Postings, I will try to address how we are raising our kids today, in comparison to other generations, places and times; I will try to separate some of the facts from fiction, as to what our kids are really doing and capable of, and how we help or hinder them; and I will postulate on how we are shaping the future for our kids through our actions now.

It of course would be impossible to tackle this kind of project without commenting on schools, teachers, the legal system, and a host of other Institutions and Players, who have an impact on Kids' lives. 

I am taking the attitude however, that whatever action those other Players take, it all comes back to the Parent(s).  The Buck stops with the Parent(s) - if they want to see changes in the institutions that affect their Kids lives --- they can do so through the Political Process, and more importantly and effectively, through the Social Consensus to which those Institutions and Players look to for guidance (fingers in the air - seeing which way the wind is blowing).

DISCLAIMER:  AUTHORITY AND VALIDITY OF MY OPINIONS

• 1) They are MY opinions (other than the comments readers may submit), and I do not claim to have any special credentials for their validity.
• 2) I am a parent --- and I would need a lot more numbers than Ten for the Stupid Parent Tricks I have performed.
• 3) There are probably a whole lot of folks out there who will have better opinions and advice than I have --- and I invite them to toss their hat in the ring and give their opinions in the Comments Section. (I do not censor comments to my blog unless patently offensive or spam)

The number one rule that I will follow in this exercise is that it is going to be flexible --- I will start with the Top Ten Countdown of Stupid Parent Tricks --- but reserve the right to add as many numbers as is necessary.

NOW ..............

The NUMBER TEN STUPID PARENT TRICK:

 Hannah Montana

Check out todays' Metro Section in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel www.JSonline.com/Milwaukee , page one HANNAH OVER YOUR WALLET.

First of all, I don't think the kind of concert that Hannah Montana - a fictional Disney Pre-Pubescent Femme Fatale - is the kind of fare that 9 year old girls should be dying to see, and their parents encouraging them to do so.

And I certainly as a Parent would not pay some scalper $700 - $900 - $1000 for tickets for such trash!

What is the lesson here Parents that you are trying to teach their child ?  If it was Disney on Ice --- there is something to be said about the athleticism of the skaters, and possible inspiration for young girls to engage in athletics.

With Hannah, is the point to teach 9 and 10 year old girls how to Vamp and look Sexy ?

What is the value of money being taught them ?  When they have graduated from college (which less than half of them will do) and they are in some job that barely lets them meet normal living costs - what kind of financial (realistic) role model was set for them ?

For a Parent who does spend that kind of money a whim of their 9 year old --- maybe they can make a lesson out of it and take a  drive through the parts of Milwaukee where people are not as fortunate - with an unemployment rate over 50% -- and if you are really lucky, you can show them a family being evicted because they didn't have $700 for their rent - a least that can give them some perspective on the Real World.

What do YOU think?  Please give your thoughts in Comments below.

For some thoughts on the current presidential race, visit my other blog at

http://nonconventionalwisdomperspectives.blogspot.com/