A Classic Example of Great Parenting.

A few days ago, a woman and her daughter went to see the movie, “Cinderella” in Birmingham, Alabama. Right behind them were two teenagers who made a show of “harassing” the poor woman and her 12-year-old daughter. After the movie ended, the woman approached the two rude girls to address them; “I told them they needed to realize that their behavior affects others and they never know what other people around them are going through,” she says. “For instance my husband was just laid off from his job and this would be the last movie I could take my daughter to for awhile, and they had ruined that.”

Back home, the teenagers’ mother was informed by her son who was in the company of his sisters. The mother was said to be furious at her daughters for their shameful behavior. She didn’t stop at that. She also promptly got on her Facebook page to make a public appeal to the victim of her daughters’ crazy attitude. She did this in the hope that the affected person would see the message. This was her appeal: “This is a long shot, but I’m looking for a woman that was at Tannehill Premier tonight seeing Cinderella at 7 pm,” she wrote while referring to the evening as her son explained it —the bad behavior, the confrontation of her daughters— and said she was humiliated by the girls’ behavior. “If you are this woman, please message me. I can assure you that these girls are being strongly dealt with and appropriately punished. This rude, disrespectful, and awful behavior is unacceptable and they owe you an apology. My husband and I are having them write your apology letter tonight and we would like to pay for your next movie and snacks out of their allowance. Please message me if this is you. I apologize profusely for their disrespect.”

The post was quickly shared around social media. The local Jefferson County Sheriff’s office posted the status, and from there it was shared nearly 47,000 times and got nearly 10,000 comments and more than 246,000 likes.

The Life of a Spoiled Brat.

At this moment, the principal hung up the phone and turned toward the student.
“Yes, Ms. Weathers…what’s all the altercation between you and Ms. Sanders?”
There was no response.
“Hello…I’m waiting…”
“I…I didn’t like the way she humiliated me in the class.”
“How do you mean…can you be more explicit?”
All of a sudden, Weathers screwed up her face and made some wild gestures with her right hand, prompting the principal to think she was being rude to him.
“What…don’t you dare…” he threatened the student.
The man however stopped in his verbal tracks when, to his dismay, the girl clutched her stomach in obvious pain.
“What…in the world…is wrong with you?”
He rushed to her side as she bolted over, screaming in pain. It was at this stage the principal saw the thick, parallel lines of blood as they snaked down the girl’s pretty, long legs.
Now confused beyond comprehension, the principal called out to his administrative assistant.
“Mary…please call 9-1-1.”
He heard the woman acknowledge his order with the tapping of some numbers on the phone as she placed a call to the emergency dispatcher. He also listened to her subsequent conversation on the phone. Afterwards, the woman rushed to join the duo of the principal and the girl in the office.
“Jessica Weathers…” the principal was calling the girl as she lay crumpled on the floor. “Are you okay?”
“No.” the girl whimpered amidst sobs. “My tummy hurts like shit.”
“Can I call the school nurse?” the Administrative Assistant asked in panic.
“Yes, please…” the principal said but soon turned around to halt the woman’s movement. “But we can’t leave her on the floor. Can you assist me in placing her on a couch?”
With the aid of his administrative assistant, the principal lifted the sobbing girl onto the nearest couch.
Shortly afterwards, they heard the wailing sound of a siren as an ambulance raced furiously in the direction of the administrative block.- Being excerpts from The Temptation of Fate: http://www.amazon.com/Temptation-Fate-Femi-Olawole/dp/1456522167/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426784562&sr=1-1&keywords=the+temptation+of+fate+by+femi+olawole

U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah Sr: Physician, Heal Thyself.

According to news reports, Chaka Fattah Jr. the son of U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah Sr. is currently awaiting trial over $200,000 in various spurious bank loans. The Feds are of the view that Chaka Fattah Jr. diverted the loans to live his fun-filled life as a “socialite”. In spite of his being a drop-out, the young man is said to have his residence in a $600,000 Ritz-Carlton condo. He is also reportedly spending lavishly on exotic cars for him and his girlfriend. And lest I forget, the man is alleged to have racked up over $33,000 in casino gambling debts.

The Bible says "Physicians, heal thyself." I have often wondered how some guys can claim to be effective in running the affairs of state, as huge as it is, when they cannot manage their lives or homes. Now, which is a greater responsibility?

The senior Fattah, a U.S. Rep; is supposed to be representing the interest of millions of people at the federal level. Yet, he cannot really be said to have got his life in order. He is twice divorced and on a third wife. And here is just one of his kids that is alleged to be a downward spiral educationally, and yet living large on other people’s money. This is an irritating irony of life that is common among folks who are in the public eyes. It’s worse for political leaders that are entrusted with caring for the lives of those in their political constituents, many of whom are poor.

These public figures are like some pastors whose charity don’t begin at home. They preach about morals, being “born again” and all that. Yet, their kids are the essential anti-thesis to everything they sermonize about on daily basis.

The Ugly Sides of Social Media.

Social media have contributed immensely to the improvement of communication and social relationships among people across the global community. However, there is a prevailing sad, ugly trend whereby a whole lot of people are surrendering their entire existence to the many social media in the cyberspace.



For such people therefore, the economic law of diminishing returns have set in. Worse, too many individuals have unwittingly become emotionally dependent on the people they meet on social media. And it's from such people they seek the validation and determination of their self-worth. The multiplying effects of this reckless and dangerous trend are especially manifesting in the lives of many teenagers and young adults who depend on total strangers for the maintenance of their self-esteems. Consequently, some of them have ended up becoming victims of scams, statutory rapes, cyber-bullying, manic depressions, suicides and murders.

A Tale of Two “Sweet Sixteen”.

Recently, Lil Wayne’s daughter, Reginae Carter, was reported to have celebrated her 16th birthday anniversary with pomp and pageantry. To her celebrity parents, becoming a “sweet sixteen” was a big feat. And for this huge "achievement", she was rewarded with a BMW SUV by her father while the mother gave her a Ferrari GTO.

Initially, when the news broke, I felt some sense of shame. Why so? My daughter, Ebunoluwa, also attained the age of sixteen this year. For my daughter though, becoming a “sweet sixteen” was not the only feat achieved. Earlier, at a tender age of fifteen, she got admitted into college. That was the age Lil Wayne's daughter completed middle school. Unlike the rapper's daughter, my daughter actually turned sixteen while in college and she has since been maintaining the status of a straight “A” student which culminated into her acceptance into an Honor’s society. In a sharp contrast to Lil Wayne’s daughter therefore, my daughter deserved a plane, possibly one of those luxurious executive Lear jets. But what did I give her? Some clothes and a dinner at Red Lobsters, a sea food restaurant!

In the final analysis however, my shame turned into pride when, in a subsequent discussion with my daughter, I was made to understand a salient point. She did not envy Lil Wayne’s daughter. If anything at all, she would rather sympathize with the “poor” girl. Why so? The teenager's case is like that of a Biblical phrase about the impossibility of anyone “worshiping God with Mammon at the same time”. Luxurious, exotic cars with loads of cash can never go together with a teenager’s pursuit of education, sense of values or moral standards. Sooner or later, all those material things will pass away. But nothing can ever take away an education and neither can anything surpass a high sense of values.

And I concurred.

 

There Are Worse Things in Life.

What Manner of Couple Bred This Kid?

A couple of days ago inside a classroom the Bartram High School within the Philadelphia School District, a female student sat on the lap of a male student while they were both engaged in some “inappropriate business”. A teacher saw them and ordered the two to stop.

“Fuck you!” the male student yelled at the teacher and continued with his “fun”.

On hearing this “insult upon injury” profanity, the teacher ordered he student to leave the class. The student left the class but waited for the 68-year-old teacher to get out of the class. As the man did, he was sucker-punched by the crazy student. As the student fled (they always do after committing crimes), the school nurse attended to the poor teacher who was subsequently taken to a hospital.

The old teacher did something I love though. He insisted on pressing criminal charges against the student. And in the meantime, the boy has been suspended by the school authorities.

I believe it’s not everyone that is capable of being a good parent. The young man in this story did not just drop from the sky. And so, I wonder what manner of couple brought him to this world?

Anyway, this is another vindication for my decision to never attempt to be a teacher in God’s own country. If the only available job is teaching, I would prefer to be jobless than go to jail. God knew very well what would have happened if I had been the teacher in this incident.

Pictured above is the punched teacher.

 

Three trick-or-treating teenage girls killed in California hit and run. By Reuters.

It was only yesterday that I wrote here about the need for parents and guardians to be very watchful over their kids on Halloween. And now this from Reuters News Agency:

Three teenage girls were killed while trick-or-treating in southern California on Friday evening when they were struck by a hit-and-run driver, authorities said.

The girls, ranging in age from 13 to 15, were in costume and carrying candy bags when they were hit while walking across a Santa Ana street at around 6:45 p.m., said Orange County Fire Authority Captain Steve Concialdi.

All three were pronounced dead on the scene, Concialdi said.

"It's a horrific accident, very tragic," he said.

Police later found the sports utility vehicle involved in the incident ditched behind a nearby retailer, said Santa Ana Police Department spokesman Anthony Bertagna.

The girls were not immediately identified as police worked to contact their parents, Bertagna said. He said the car had been driving at a high rate of speed through the intersection before it hit the girls.

Police were on the scene and interviewing the many witnesses in the area, Bertagna said.

Concialdi said that chaplains from the fire department were also on scene, counseling families who were out celebrating the Halloween holiday.

Santa Ana is a city of about 325,000 people 35 miles (56 km) south of Los Angeles.

It Takes a Village to Raise a Child.

A colleague once narrated an incident that took place in her Wilmington, DE neighborhood. After getting off work in the middle of the night one fateful day, she saw a group of people loitering around her home. Seeing the fully-armed officer approach, the group dispersed. Then she realized that among the group were teenage girls and kids ranging from seven to twelve. Angrily, the officer scolded the girls and the kids for staying up so late in the company of grown men.

The following morning, her porch played host to some furious women who wanted to know why she scolded their kids. In spite of her explanation about feeling concerned for the kids’ safety, she was warned to mind her business next time. A few days later, the same officer arrived at her neighborhood to see the teenage girls “making out” with some of the men at various corners of the street. Shaking her head sadly, she ignored them. A few months afterwards, a couple of the girls were pregnant, victims of “babies having babies”.



All over the United States, too many people are shirking in their primary responsibilities as parents. And they would not tolerate anyone getting involved in their kid’s discipline. It’s no wonder therefore that the country is replete with too many rude, lazy and ignorant young people. Unfortunately, there is a staggering manifestation of this sad consequences in schools, work places and neighborhoods across the nation.

In many middle schools and high schools across the nation, it takes individuals with lion hearts to work as teachers. With metal detectors installed at several schools to prevent lethal weapons, the job of a teacher is filled with as much hazards as those of soldiers deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.

When a typical high school churns out some irate, undisciplined kids either as drop-outs or as half-baked graduates, they usually end up at the hands of unlucky employers of labor. Yet, with a sordid foundation laden with laziness and indiscipline in formative years, these individuals who are now “grown” adults will sooner or later begin to exhibit their negative attributes.

Some of the kids who are unable to fit into a regular work orientation or too desperate to get rich quick, will end up as a menace to their neighborhoods. If they are not selling drugs at street corners, they get into street gangs to unleash terror on hapless people. Before long, these characters will get busted, tried in courts and jailed. And that is if the guys don’t first get killed by fellow drug dealers, opposing gangs or a frustrated police officer who is also a victim of some very poor parenting.

There is still hope in the horizon. But that is only if we all can return to the “old school” tradition where "it takes a village to raise a child".

The Perils of the Internet.

“Generally, social networking sites

can be hugely promising and beneficial

in opening new friendships

and vistas

and knowledge of the world,

but they are also fraught with peril,

when young people are reckless

or headless.”

- Richard Blumenthal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Need for Parent Control in America.

In view of the pervading gun violence that is ravaging our God’s own country, and especially, the latest death of a 2 year-old kid at the hands of her 5 year-old brother in Kentucky, it has been argued among a certain school of thought that what Americans need is child control and not gun control.

Really?

Okay…fine.

However, I do also believe that parent control is as much needed as child control and gun control in this country of greatest intrigues.

Or what else can we expect in a nation where infants who, within a few minutes of their births, are fed on cow milk instead of the mother’s breasts’ milk? What manner of parents (including babies having babies, of course) will unwittingly hand-over their kids to be raised by cows (as proxy moms) and thereby having the kids grow up behaving like animals in human skins?

Yes, that’s how it’s done in the United States of America…although the perpetrators don’t see it this way. All they care about is the prevention of their precious breasts falling victims of the law of gravity, which by the way, is naturally inevitable.

It’s in fact worse where the hapless kids have parents (usually single parents) who mistake a child for a pet (dog or cat). In such an instance, the kids are turned into some idiotic, spoiled brats with no values to sustain them into adulthood. A case in point was a college kid who used to be woken up by phone every morning by a mother calling from another state several hundreds of miles away because the spoiled brat was not capable of waking up by himself, not even with an alarm clock.

It’s therefore no wonder that many kids who are unfortunate to arrive this world through those unworthy of being called parents often end up as dysfunctional individuals. Consequently, they become career sociopaths, psychopaths, pedophiles, rapists, drug dealers and serial killers.

And, as for the society at large, it’s only consolation exists either when the psychologically and emotionally-inept individual becomes a statistic among those populating the sprawling prison industries or (and) among those getting killed by judicial decisions or at the hands of similar folks?