Coach: What's that smell???
After that shitty officiating I thought I would share a funny story.
We took our 14U SB team to the game today. It was the first time for all of them on campus, including the other coach (who is a huge Sparty fan), It was rather nice. So we went to the M Den so the girls can get T shirts. Then we went to ( BWW) to have lunch. The game was at 2 so we had a lot of time.
We finished lunch at about 12;30 so I decided to take them to the diag to take in a little Michigan. Here is the problem: I FORGOT IT WAS HASH BASH
For those who have never witnessed Hash Bash, think of Haight/Ashbury with a few less people. Pot, hippies and Protests everywhere. There were hippies everywhere. A cloud hung over the diag but not from weather. One of the girls said, Coach, I see smoke. What is on fire?"
I looked at my other coach and said "oh shit". We agreed to let them see all the Michigan History. As we entered the diag from the north, we walked past the tower then we walked to the steps to look at the huge banner of Bob Marley, There was a group of people thumping on bongos. We stood there for maybe 30 second and one of the girls asked, "Hey coach, whats that smell?", sarcastically.
I laughed my ass off. It was the first time for all of them. So we explained the whole 1960s counter culture and the lifestyle in San Fransico and how it carried over into most campuses by the late 1960s.
What an interesting day. Im still laughing at this. After we left the diag, one girl said, Im hungry. Is there a Taco Bell here?"
I thought I was going to shit my pants because I laughed so hard. I think she had a contact buzz.
What a great day to be a Michigan Wolverine.
As a parent of 3 teenagers, I think you did the right thing. Avoiding the realities of life in order to protect teenagers causes more harm than good. That doesn't mean going out of your way to expose them to those realities, but I don't think you did that. Running away from Hash Bash would have left them feeling that there was something forbidden and exciting going on there rather than the not so pretty reality. Going out of your way to shelter kids just removes the opportunity to have any influence on how they view those things. In the end, they will make their own decisions no matter what you do as a parent.
I do hope that in "the talk" afterward, you were careful to separate the facts from your political beliefs. I would be more disturbed if my daughter came home from such an occasion spouting a worldview to the right of Rush Limbaugh, and would be equally disturbed if a coach of one of my kids was spouting any extreme political view, left or right, while my kids were in their care.
this thread should die now. My point was to highlight the reaction of teenagers to a different culture that they normally would not experience. Teenages can be entertaining when exposed to the "olden days" but for many of us, the olden days were the best times of our lives. I did not intend this thread to become political,
I think we all agree that exposure to different political, cultural and religious beliefs are a good thing overall. It is the responsibility of the parent to determine right from wrong for their children.
Thanks for sharing. Just a heads up: there are some very unhappy/judgemental people on this board who relish the chance to climb up on their soapbox and express their moral superiority. Do not be afraid to share stories or anecdotes that you think they might not approve of, and dont worry about defending yourself. To defend yourself is to admit that you care what they think.
I thought I led a sheltered life. By age 14 I had seen pot. He'll I had seen kids drop acid and take Antoine on the school bus. I had friends who joint gangs...ones house was even a drive by target. I had friends who had had sex, I had seen condoms and been to third base myself
<br>
<br>My parents obviously didn't intend for me to experience these things, but I still turned out alright. Despite those drugs, I to this day have never actually used any drug.
<br>
<br>In short, these girls probably knew about weed before this. The moral fabric that their parents wove will determine if they experiment or not, not this experience. Finally, as parents, we can only talk with our kids about these things, you cannot dictate how,when, or where the world will expose your kids to these things.
Damn autocorrect "Antoine" was supposed to be "shrooms"
I assumed an Antoine was similar to a Jeffrey, in which case the solution would have been simple:
Hide yo kids and hide yo wife???