Deb's thoughts

I woke up last night as John McCain was giving his speech, I thought he had won until I actually listened.

I am so proud of the people of this country!  We actually elected a man based on his character and not the color of his skin.  I heard, and I don't know how accurate it is, (I think they were talking about an exit poll at that time)  that 60% of whites voted for Barack Obama.  60%!!!!   Even if this is wrong, he did not win on the black vote only. 

We are for the first time in a very long time the UNITED States of America.

I know there are people that disagree and that's ok, but he is the President and we ALL need to give him a chance.

I pray that God gives him the wisdom, patience, and strength to lead this country and I pray that everyone will be granted the patience needed to allow him time to do his job.

God Bless America, the American people and Barack Obama.

(KTVI - myFOXstl.com) -- As Americans try to navigate through tough financial times, many parents are struggling with how to address the economic mess with their children. Behavioral pediatrician Dr. Tim Jordan has more on how to talk to your kids about financial fears.

Do we really need a Behavioral Pediatrician to tell us how to talk to our children about money?  What happened to parents?  Have we completely lost confidence in our ability to be parents?  There is a book on every aspect of parenting, videos on how to talk to our children, videos on how to discipline them, how to dress them.  Pregnancy has become a disease. What is wrong with us?

How about telling your children "no, we can't afford that right now"?  How about telling the teenagers that if they want that car, or ipod, or game system that they need to get a job and pay for at least half of it? 

How about telling them that it is a grown up problem and the grown ups will take care of it?

Why do we feel the need to explain and discuss everything with our children?  I know parents that actually ask their younger children for their input on important issues. 

I have heard people say that it is good for children to know everything, I disagree, some things are for adults to know, understand and deal with.  I can understand telling your children if one of the parents lose a job and things have to be cut back, or if you have to move - but they should still be told that the adults are handling everything.  How safe do you think a 10 yr old feels when his parents are asking him what to do?

When I was young (back in the OLD days) my mother had a favorite saying any time we asked about or interrupted an adult conversation - "You are a child, this is a grown up issue (or conversation)".  We weren't even allowed to be in the same room as the adults when they were discussing something, or even at a family gathering.  In my family when you turned 16 you were allowed to join in the adult conversations.  That was something we looked forward to.

We were told the only "rights"  we had, was the right to be a child.  My mom used to tell us to enjoy that right, it wouldn't last long and we would spend the rest of our life wishing we still had that "right".   I think we are denying our children the privilege of being children when we include them in every decision, every discussion.

Do you believe in the separation of Child and Adult? 

St. Louis, Mo. (The Weekly Vice) -- John A. Bender, a 61 year old computer teacher at Gateway Elementary School in St. Louis has been arrested for Statutory Sodomy and Child Molestation amid allegations that he sexually assaulted a student in a school closet near his classroom. According to authorities, Bender had inappropriate physical contact with a then - 12 year old female student who attended the school. Police say Bender's alleged activities occurred back in September of 2007. Police first became aware of the alleged behavior when the child reported the incident to authorities. But that's not where the case ends. Police have also charged Richard Sirna, the school's principal, in the case. He faces one charge for failing to report the matter to proper authorities. School officials who receive information about suspected abuse or neglect are required by law to report the information to social services. According to police, the alleged activity was reported to Sirna, who allegedly did nothing. Bender has been placed on paid suspension since the district learned of the allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior last November, said district spokeswoman Deborah Sistrunk. Bender has been ordered held on 100,000 bond, pending his next hearing. The principal is expected to appear in court for his next hearing on May 15th.

Update:

Richard Sirna, 60, of Florissant was found guilty in St. Louis Circuit Court on charges of failure to report child abuse or neglect by a school official. 

According to court records the child was 10, not 12 as first reported and John Bender is charged with first-degree statutory sodomy and felony child molestation.


I know both these men, my sister dated John Bender and I am ashamed to say she is the reason for his divorce.  Sirna and John are best friends which is why, I believe,  he did not report this. 

I looked everywhere on this site and did not see this story, I do not understand why. 

What would you do?  Would you report your friend?

Richard Sirna was wrong as far as I am concerned, not only because he is a mandated reporter, but because a young girl was involved in this.  It doesn't matter if it is true or not, it should have been reported and investigated.  Are there any other children?  What about other teachers?  I know for a fact that Richard Sirna allowed certain teachers to get away with things that other schools or the school system itself did not allow.  My sister taught there for about 6 years, and was part of this  "in" crowd.

What do you think?

Obama says family is off limits, McCain said he knew Palin's daughter was pregnant.  Most people agree it is a non issue so why is the MEDIA making such an issue of it? 

TO ALL NEWS MEDIA:  LEAVE IT ALONE, MOVE ON TO SOMETHING ELSE.  THIS IS NO LONGER A NEWS STORY.

The following website allows you to listen to the police,fire and ems calls from the city of St. Charles, St. Louis and St. Louis county.  I found it Friday night and have enjoyed it immensely!  One nice thing I found is how quiet my neighborhood really is, only thing going on within walking distance of my house is accidents, falls, a fire and a couple of domestic squabbles.  I wake up sometimes at 2 or 3 in the morning and can't go back to sleep, so it's a great way to pass the time.

You can listen to calls all across the country, including calls from the Denver Colorado area.



http://mo.scanamerica.us/index.php?

Monday will be the first day of class for St. Louis Public Schools. Sunday, district leaders visited a dozen churches in the city to rally the community to help students get to school.

"Many of the countries we compete against, the kids go to school 5-and-a-half days a week," Interim Superintendent Dr. John Wright told the congregation at Greater Mt. Carmel Baptist Church. "They have a longer school year. Most of them speak multiple languages."

The above was taken from an article on another news site.

My question is:  Would these same churches be allowed to show up the first day of school and stand on the steps or in the lobby and pray for the students, teachers and administrators?

The St. Louis Public Schools have done this for at least the last 4 years.  Usually it is a predominantly black church although they did go to a Vietnamese church last year.

 

I guess my problem with this is the fact that religion is so taken out of the schools, I mean we have "Winter Break", Spring Break" instead of Christmas or Easter Breaks. Kids can't sing Christmas Hymns, only Holiday songs.

If we have removed every mention of religion from our schools, what gives the State the right to go into a church?

I am not a member of any of the churches involved in this; but I believe that laws are for the same for everyone.  If the law says that my child/church can not pray in school, than the school should not be allowed in church.

I honestly don't know if I should put this under "NEWS"  or "POLITICS", I guess I'll go with news.

What are your feelings about this?

I just found a very interesting website: http://www.stumbleupon.com/

You answer a couple of questions, pick out your interests and "stumble" around the internet.  I have found some of the best sites, some I would not have found on my own

I'm not promoting anything, just passing on some interesting information.

Well, here it is Friday night,  I'm on vacation until Wednesday. Took a few days off for my birthday , finished the stuff around the house that I wanted to get done, ran all my errands today, decided what to wear tomorrow night when we go out, and I've been thinking about a few things. 

I will be 54 on Monday, but my brain says I'm still about 19 or 20, really! It fools me into thinking I can do things that I can no longer do.  I think I can still dance all night, I think I can still run up the street, I think I can still stay out all night - the fact is I can dance for awhile, but I'll suffer for it later, I can run about 1 house up the street (hopefully I won't fall), and I'm lucky if I'm awake at 10pm.  I used to celebrate my birthday by going out all weekend and partying, dancing and having fun, now my birthday wish is to just rest. 

When I was a teenager some of my friends called me "Gidget" cause I'm only 4'11" and smiled a lot, now my "sweetie" calls me "rice crispies" cause I snap, crackle and pop when I move!

Don't get me wrong - I am not upset about my age, I mean - look at the alternative!  I am also truly blessed to be in good health,  I've no medical problems other that a bit of arthritis and these weird headaches they are still trying to figure out.  I do realize that 54 isn't  "old",  but I just realized the difference between the way I think I am and the way I really am.

I use to sit around work and discuss what  we did over the weekend, or the party we were going to, or having.  Now I sit around work and we compare medication, doctors, surgerys or our wish for a few days to do absolutely nothing! 

One of my co-workers went "paint balling" about 2 weeks ago, he's about my age.  He is still in pain!

I have a neighbor that is 82, next Thursday she and her husband will celebrate their 60Th wedding anniversary!  Isn't that wonderful?  She is threatening to divorce him before then tho,  she wants to sell the house and move into an apartment, he doesn't.  He is 85 and still cuts his own grass!  She still drives (although I have to admit, when I rode with her I kept reminding God that the Bible says he takes care of babies and fools, and I was a fool to get into that car, so He better take care of me!) 

But, know what? I honestly would not want to be any younger than I am.  I really have no desire to be 20 again.  I've decided that I may not be the "youngster" that I use to be, but I'm still one heck of a woman!!


What are your thoughts on birthdays? On getting older?

Can anyone explain to me why President Bush was at the Olympic? I can understand him being at the opening ceremony, but he stayed, and went to church!, and made a point of being interviewed while at a government sanction church service. Did you see how uncomfortable the person with him looked? I thought the Olympics were supposed to be as politically free as possible. Am I wrong? I thought he embarrased the Chinese and he embarrased me.

Dear Friend, 

I saw you yesterday as you began your daily chores.  You awoke without kneeling to pray. As a matter of fact, you didn't even bless your meals, or pray before going to bed last night. You are so un-thankful, I like that about you.

Thanks to you, I'm really showing God who is boss in your life with all of the good times we've had. We have been watching dirty movies, cursing people out,  stealing, lying, being hypocritical, fornicating, overeating, telling dirty jokes, gossiping, being judgmental, back stabbing people, disrespecting adults, and those in leadership positions, no respect for the Church, bad attitudes. 

SURELY you don't want to give all this up. 

 
You are so gullible, I laugh at you. When you are tempted to sin, you give in
HA HA HA, you make me sick. 

 

 Sin is beginning to take its toll on your life. You look 20 years older, and now, I need new blood. So go ahead and teach some children how to sin.  All you have to do is smoke, get drunk or drink while under-aged, cheat, gamble, gossip, fornicate, and live  being as selfish as possible.  Do all of this in the presence of children and they will do it too. Kids are like that.  

 

I cannot tell you how glad I am that you have not changed your way of living, Fool, you are mine.  Remember, you and I have been going steady for years, and I still don't love you yet. As a matter of fact, I hate you, because I hate God.  He kicked me out of heaven, and I'm going to use you as long as possible to pay him back. 

Well, Fool, I have to let you go for now. I'll be back in a couple of seconds to tempt you again. If you were smart, you would run somewhere, confess your sins, and live for God with what little bit of life that you have left.

It's not my nature to warn anyone, but to be your age and still sinning; it's becoming a bit ridiculous. Don't get me wrong, I still hate you. 

 

(I received this today, it was right on time, guess who didn't pray at all yesterday!)

IT'S JUST THAT YOU'D MAKE A BETTER FOOL FOR CHRIST.

A St. Louis County lawmaker, who'd pushed for tougher punishment for sex offenders, is now accused of being a sex offender, himself. State Representative Scott Muschany was indicted in Cole County Wednesday.

The indictment accuses him of having "sexually deviant intercourse" with a minor on May 17, 2008. 

He said the married father of two and his wife had also been foster parents. "They're as good of people as you know.  They've been fabulous, pillars...from fostering little babies to working hard in the church.  It's a shock.  We're all stunned."    

The above was taken from the FOX 2 story on Mr. Muschany.  

I heard a lot of people talking about how much he loved children, he and his wife were foster parents, he was active in church, in the school.  I don't know this man, I don't know the whole story, but I do know this:

Pedophiles (if he did this, he deserves this label), want to be around children,  they are the people who every one says "oh, I can't believe this, he loves children so much"  "He was so active in the church youth group"  or " He was always doing something with the kids" 
Well, DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I also know this:

  Any woman with children of any age should NOT bring the man they are dating around the children until they have been dating for at least 6 months or more.  I will never understand why women meet a man and the next day or week, this man is in their house, and being left alone with their children.   
Don't bring them around your children for lots of reasons:  you REALLY don't know them,  children attach easily, what happens 3 weeks later when you decide you don't want to see this guy any more? 
Do YOU know his temper? What happens when the child does something and this man gets angry?  How many times when children are abused the abuser is the mother's boyfriend?
What are your children learning when in the course of 1 year you have brought 10 different men into the house?  There isn't anything wrong with dating, just realize what your children are seeing,  the mother of this teenage girl taught her daughter that it is ok to date a married man, I am sorry this happened to this young lady and I am not blaming any one except Mr Muschany, but why was he allowed to be alone with her? 

Teenage girls are learning how to be women, they will do what they see.  Please, if you are a single parent and dating, keep your personal life separate from your family life, at least until you really know the person you are dating.

Children watch what you do much more than they listen to what you say,.

This was an e-mail I received, thought I should pass it on.

According to today's over-zealous regulators and petty bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's and maybe even early 70's, probably shouldn't have survived.

Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint. If we dare to chew on our baby we got severely chastised or slapped. That bed was needed for the next baby. We slept on our backs or our stomachs, whichever way was more comfortable. We slept in back rooms with the doors closed so no one would wake up.

We had no childproof lids or locks on medicine bottles, doors, or cabinets.

Hitchhiking was what we did to get places when there were no buses and we didn't have a car.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. It was a sad rite of passage, when as a child, you were too tall to stand up in the back seat and look out!

Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat, and the more the merrier.

We drank water from the tap and even the garden hose and not from a bottle.

We ate cupcakes, fudge, candy, and drank soda pop with cane sugar in it, and we were never overweight. Diet drinks were for sick people.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one got sick.

We would spend hours building our scooters from a few boards and a pair of skates. We rode them, and our bicycles, and our skates with no knee pads, no elbow pads, and no helmets. We learned that falling hurt, and we learned to avoid falls.

We would leave home in the morning and play all day , and often well into the night, after we ate supper. No one was able to reach us during any of this time. No cell phones or pagers, just Mom yelling out the front door or calling our friend's house in an emergency.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video games at all, no 256 channels on cable, DVD movies, surround sound, personal cell phones, personal computers, or Internet chat rooms.

We had friends! We went outside and found them.

We played dodge ball, and sometimes, the ball would really hurt. We fell out of trees, got cut, some even broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame but us. Remember accidents? They were what we called things that happened usually because of our own carelessness, not because of someone else's. The idea that someone would sue because they spilled hot coffee on themselves would have been a joke!

We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it.

We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and shot our BB guns, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out any eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rang the bell or just walked in and talked to them.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to get better or do something else.

Some students weren't as smart as others, so they failed a grade and were held back to repeat the same grade.

Tests were not adjusted for any reason. Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected.

The idea of parents bailing us out if we got in trouble in school or broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the school or the law. Imagine that!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers, and inventors, ever.

We had freedom, failure, success, and responsibility --- and we learned how to deal with it.

And you're one of them!

Congratulations.

Please pass this on to others who have had the luck to grow up as kids before lawyers and the so-called government regulated our lives for their own good !!!

I had so much fun with mincooper's blog, I thought I would see how many people remember these?  Any funny, exciting, scary experiences with any of these?

Candy cigarettes

Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water inside

Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles

Coffee shops with tableside jukeboxes

Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers. Cream on the top of the milk.

Snowballs (snowcones) that came in a square dish?

Licorice sticks? Mary Janes? Kits? Bit-o-Honeys?

Newsreels before the movie {our evenings news]

Half hour Serials (cliffhangers) between movies? Like Superman, Sir Galahad?

P.F. Fliers, Keds, and high top tennis shoes that cost $2 a pair

Party lines with special rings: 2 short rings and you answered.

Howdy Doody

Green Stamps

Hi-Fi's

Metal ice cubes trays with levers

Mimeograph paper

Beanie and Cecil

Roller-skate keys

Cork popguns Home made chinaball popguns

Rubber guns made with spring clothespins and rubber strips cut from inner tubes. Remember rubber inner tubes? Great raw material for all kinds of projects.

Drive ins

Studebakers

Washtub wringers

The Fuller Brush Man

Reel-To-Reel tape recorders

Tinkertoys Erector Sets

Lincoln Logs

15 cent McDonald hamburgers 5 cent packs of baseball cards - with that awful pink slab of bubble gum

25 cent a gallon gasoline

Making pop corn on the stove top

Do you remember a time when...

Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-moe"?

Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "Do Over!"?

Catching lightning bugs (fireflies) could happily occupy an entire evening?

Catching mosquito hawks (dragonflies) a whole afternoon? And there were green ones, blue ones, orange ones, tiny ones, and great big huge ones?

It wasn't odd to have two or three "Best Friends"?

The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was a cold?

Having a weapon in school meant being caught with a slingshot?

A foot of snow was a dream come true?

Saturday morning cartoons weren't 30-minute commercials for action figures?

"Oly-oly-oxen-free" made perfect sense?

Spinning around, getting dizzy, and falling down was cause for giggles?

The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team?

War was a card game?

Baseball cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle?

Taking drugs meant aspirin?

Water balloons were the ultimate weapon?

You were sent to the drugstore to test vacuum tubes for the TV.

When Kool-Aid was the only drink for kids, other than milk and sodas.
When there were two types of sneakers for girls and boys (Keds & PF Flyers), and the only time you wore them at school, was for "gym".
When it took five minutes for the TV to warm up.
When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there.
When nobody owned a purebred dog.
When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.
When girls neither dated nor kissed until late high school, if then.
When your mom wore nylons that came in two pieces.
When all of your male teachers wore neckties and female teachers had their hair done, everyday.
When you got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking,.... for free, every time. And, you didn`t pay for air. And, you got trading stamps to boot!
When laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box.
When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed him, or use him to carry groceries, and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.
When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents.
When they threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed ...and did!
When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home.

St. Charles County — A nanny should get seven years in prison — the maximum sentence — for assaulting a 4-month-old St. Peters boy, a jury recommended Tuesday. The same jury of seven women and five men who found Rebecca L. Harris guilty on Monday decided unanimously to recommend the sentence. Harris, 22, of O'Fallon, Mo., hit the baby's head against a wall causing severe injuries, authorities said. late Tuesday afternoon.

The above paragraph was taken from a story in the St. Louis Post Dispatch written by Shane Anthony

What do you think of the sentence? Do you think it was enough?

It hurts my heart to hear these stories.  I have cared for children abused in this way I know the pain, anger, and hurt it causes the people that love this child.

I also know the frustration a screaming, crying baby can cause.  I understand how someone can reach this point. I will never understand the abuse that is thought about or planned, but this, this impulsive, frustration driven abuse, I do understand.  I think any parent that is completely honest with themselves can understand it also. 

I'm going to tell you a story, one that took years for me to tell anyone.  
When my first child was about 8 months old, my husband and I were in Ft. Hood, Texas. (This was back in 1972 ) He was in the army. This was my first child, I was young, far away from home, we had just moved into the neighborhood, I didn't know anyone.   My husband had to go "in the field" in other words, he went to play war for 3 days. During these 3 days, short of a death in the family he could not be contacted. When he left, Jason had a cold.  Later that day, Jason got really sick and I took him into the hospital. He had pneumonia.  For 3 days, I rocked, gave medicine, held, rocked, gave medicine, he was so sick, we did not sleep, he couldn't take a bottle, (His nose was all stuffed up and he was coughing so bad).  I even held him while going to the bathroom! If you put him down, he coughed more and had problems breathing. (Now I know he should have been in the hospital!). All that kept me going was knowing that my husband would be home soon and then I could get some sleep.  I was ok with the baby, I knew I was the only one that could take care of him.  I kept counting the hours till my husband came home.
The morning he was due home, I had not slept in 3 days, other than a catnap in the rocking chair .  The medicine was starting to take effect and Jason was breathing better and his cough was starting to sound different.  He fell asleep just as my husband was pulling into the drive way.  I laid him on the couch and opened the door for my husband. My wonderful husband that had NO idea how sick Jason was, walked in the door, put his gear down, kissed me on the cheek and said "I'm tired, I'm going to bed, wake me up in a couple of hours" and walked into the bedroom!
The next part of this story is what I have vivid memories of, but understand it did not happen I can not explain why I have such vivid memories of something that did not happen, but this is what I remember.
I remember watching my husband walk into the other room, I remember Jason crying, I remember picking him up and throwing him into the wall. I remember the blood on the wall, I remember Jason falling back down on the couch.  I can see this as well as I can see my hands typing this. 
What my husband told me I really did was follow him into the bedroom and in a very calm quiet voice I told him that Jason had been sick, and if he didn't get up and take care of Jason, I was going to hurt my child.  My husband said I explained Jason's medication schedule, how I was trying to get food or liquids into him, not to give him milk, my husband said he put me into the shower and then into bed. I slept 24 hours.  I do not remember any of this.  I remember throwing my son into the wall. I remember waking up thinking I had killed my son.
This memory scared me to death. It terrified me to think I was capable of doing something like this.  I vowed I would never let myself get frustrated with my child again. I started time out years before anyone else.  I learned I needed about 15 minutes.  I learned to put Jason in his crib, or in his room, and walk away, take a quick shower, go out on the front porch,   It was kind of funny really, cause by the time he was 2, all I had to do was raise my voice a bit and he would point at me and say "time".  Time out was always for ME, it was never because he was bad, only because I was getting angry or frustrated. I used to tell him, "I need time, Jas" and he would go play in his room for a bit. 

I ended up having 2 more children and used "time" for me with each child.  Trust me, my oldest daughter gave me more "time outs" than you could every imagine!

It took me years to realize that I did not hurt my child. That by the grace of God, I had not walked toward my child, but into the other room. It took me years to realize that there was something inside of me that kept me from hurting my child.  To this day, I have no explanation for this memory, it is still so vivid, so real, but so false.  

This is why I can understand that moment of frustration, babying screaming, you're mad cause you are left alone, money issues, scared cause you can't figure out what's wrong, and you lose it.  And the child is hurt.  I understand it, because in my mind I came that close. 

Every time I hear stories like this it brings back this "memory".  Will prison help her? Probably not.  Is the sentence long enough? Honestly, I don't know. 

I wish we could teach all parents, all babysitters, anyone caring for children to walk away, lay the baby down in the crib, put the child in his room, some place they are safe and go outside, go into the bathroom and scream, take a quick shower  - get YOURSELF under control. You can not control a baby, you can not  MAKE  a baby stop crying,  The baby doesn't understand your words any more that you would understand someone screaming at you in Chinese!

I guess I just needed to get this out of my system this morning,  thanks for listening.

If you saw a crime being committed would you get involved?  If you saw a child that looked lost would you help?  If you saw a child being carried out of the store, screaming and kicking, and yelling for help would you get involved? If you saw a woman, or a child being beaten, would you get involved?

With everything that is going on these days, the shootings every night, the girl being shot over a purse,  the robberies, etc. one thing I keep hearing is that people are afraid.  The kids that know something don't want to be considered a snitch, the adults are afraid of retaliation.

If I saw  someone caring a screaming kicking child out of the store, I would stop them,. I can say this with certainty, because I have. I was at Target, I have kids, I know the temper tantrums they can pull, but something didn't seem right about this.  The child was about 4,   I watched the man carrying him walk out to the parking lot, this child not only seemed very angry, he seemed scared,   A police car pulled into Target and I told the cop what I saw and how the child was screaming and why I felt it was just more than a temper tantrum.  He stopped the man.  Fortunately I was wrong, it was the child's father, the child was autistic, and had been overwhelmed by the crowd and noises  in Target. I'm glad I was wrong, I'm sorry I embarrassed the father, I'm also glad I got involved, what if I had been right?

When my son was murdered, the kid that shot him was caught 3 days later because the people in the neighborhood got involved.  The detective handling the case said 3 different people told him who shot my son.  I will forever be grateful to them.

I think we are giving these criminals power.  They know people are afraid to get involved, so they don't care.  It's like the bully in the playground, he scared everyone until someone stood up to him.  We can not turn our heads, we can no longer be quiet, when we know something.  We have to stop giving them power.  The Nazi's got into power because people kept quiet.

When I was a kid, I knew I had to behave no matter where I went, someone in my neighborhood knew my mother, or one of my aunts, she had 6 sisters and had grown up in the same neighborhood. I had the same 6th grade teacher as my mom and 3 of her sisters.  That kept me out of soooooooo much trouble!!   It is my theory, or my opinion that if the criminals knew that someone was going to turn them in, that the people in the neighborhood were going to get involved, it would stop a lot of this.

I realize how stupid it would be to physically attempt to stop someone with a gun, but we can call the police.  If we know something about a crime that has been committed we can tell, anonymously if necessary. but we have to tell.

I guess I got started on this because of the young girl that was shot over a purse.  Her father is asking for people to come forward if they know something.  Someone does, this person probably bragged to his friends about what he did. 

These shootings in North St. Louis, the people in the neighborhood have some idea of who is responsible for this. I'm not blaming anyone, I know they are scared, or maybe they think it won't do any good.  I'm just asking people to get involved. 


Little Dabion Green, the 6 yr old (I think he just turned 7) is being told he's a hero, and he is - because he did something that most adults won't do.  He told the police who broke into his house. He did the right thing even if he was scared.  I'm proud of him.  We all need to take a lesson from this young man.  I hope he continues to do the right things and I think he will, sounds like he has good parents. 
                               
We have to stop letting them bully us.