Jetjok

Yeah, I know. But it's a fact that we all worry about our "kids", no matter how old they are. That was the point.

Merry Christmas, Tony.

wild4theuniform

Dear JetJock, Koz and TonyC,

I know I will ALWAYS worry about my kids until I'm gone, (that's the Italian mom in me!) What I meant was when they're 21, they are adults and are legally responsible for themselves (hopefully!!)

Koz, don't want to be shipped in a box and don't have jumpseat privileges. Thanks anyway!

Skygirl

That is so true. Both of my sons are adults now and I still worry about them - that's probably why I go around talking to myself and trying to get my 30,000 words out for the day. When the movie "Almost Famous" came out, my sons and I were watching it together. There was a scene where the mom was dropping her son off at a rock concert and yelled to him out the car window, "Don't Do Drugs!" My boys laughed and looked at me and said, "Mom, you're in the movies."

Truth be told, I watched the drug thing like a mama hawk, and although I know they've tried certain ones, they've turned out ok and never got into any serious trouble. That being said, I never said never. I just hoped and prayed that they wouldn't get hooked on any of that poison, get into trouble, and I still always pray that they're safe. I wouldn't be so quick to criticize parents whose kids get into drugs. I know some of the most conscientious, loving, wonderful parents whose kids took a wrong turn. All you can do is hope and pray that they find their way back and stay safe.

Merry Christmas Tony! ...and of course, to everyone else.

Skygirl

So true. It is a greater burden in many ways to be the offspring of someone rich or famous. You can't screw up, like most kids do, without it becoming common knowledge.

Bitme

Thought I'd throw in a couple words because I have kids and I'm relaxing Sunday morning.

Smith's kid at UVA went on to law school at Ole Miss and is now married and a lawyer.

Cannon I believe was kicked out of Christian Brothers high school or more accurately given the choice to leave; not sure what for, but I believe ended up in Mississippi so he wouldn't lose a year of eligibility.

My heart goes out to Sr. With as many kids as he and his wife have, I don't think he's doing too bad as a dad. Actually I'm amazed most of them if not all have turned out as well as they have. Hopefully this is a bump in the road for Jr. and he will learn from this mistake.

Lastly my input on the drug issue. It's not like when we were in college and a little weeed was going around. Most drugs are considered recreational and if a person is unfortunate and gets hooked has the ability to overcome. I had my kids view a show a while back on Meth that was filmed in Iowa of all places. When you think Iowa, you don't think meth do you? Anyway, the story was about 1 deputy that was in charge of meth in this county. That's right ONE. The documentary followed him around busting labs and arresting people and also following up on "his people". The most profound thing I think he said and has been followed up by a personal experience with a family we know about is:

"the very first time you try meth you will either love it or hate it. If you love it you are hooked for life." "You may get off of it for periods of time, but the craving is so strong you will never kick it."

This personal experience was the wife of a friend that took this stuff to lose weight. Well it worked all-right. She also lost her marriage and her family and eventually will lose her life. She's now about as big around as a pencil and been through rehab I don't know how many times, but the crank keeps calling her.

So, when I worry for my kids I too will worry til I die, because there's no telling when something like this, or the next drug we don't even know about will do it's damage.

Parents, the anti-drug. Good luck to each of us, and to Fred in this endeavour.

On that down note let me close more upbeat and wish you a Happy whatever-it-is you celebrate. How's that for PC?

Pilotpip

I live in the Meth capital of the world. My mom works for an oral surgeon and they are seeing more and more cases of what they're calling "meth mouth". Basically you have 20 and 30 year olds having all of their teeth pulled because the meth eats up their gums and jaw bone.

Parents are the anti-drug. I consider myself very lucky. My mom and I had a very open dialogue regarding everything including drugs. I've never done any, never had any desire to. I'll admit to having a few beers before I could. Former friends, however, had parents that constantly hounded them about the littlest things. One parent was paranoid enough about it to have monthly drug screenings. He's the one that's in rehab now because he started using out of spite. Of course the open lines of communication weren't all of it for me. There was the danger of having to face 110lbs of Italian fury.

I'm sick of hearing about a petty crime that's committed by somebody just because they have a famous name. People screw up. I don't understand why the media feels that people should be held to a higher standard just because they have money.

bravo24

I don't want to hijack this thread but I can't let your delusions about Collierville go unchallenged.

You claim that the Collierville PD has part-time officers. In reality, there are NO part time officers. According to the PD's 2004 annual report (the most recent available on its web site) there are 81 commissioned officers and they are ALL full time. You may be thinking about the Senior Citizens Volunteer Program which are unpaid volunteers and have no arrest or enforcement powers. The only part-time personnel are 11 school crossing guards and 2 explorer cadets.

I won't speculate why you have such a hard-on about the CPD - maybe you've had some bad experiences with them. I've managed to live here for almost 9 years and have never been pulled over, let alone recieve a citation. Like I said earlier, if you follow the rules you should't have any problems.

I don't need your patronizing "feel sorry" attitude about where I live. I'm an adult and I take full responsibility for my decisions. I chose to live in Collierville and have no real desire to live elsewhere.

Jetjok

I didn't claim that they had part-time police, I said "I didn't think that all those part-time cops are paid for their "service" to the republic. Could be wrong, however, because I no longer have any concern with that town." It's good that they "upgraded" their service. For the record, I've never been stopped or ticketed for anything in the 16 years I've been working in and around Memphis, G'town and Collierville. I've seen those cops stop people, time and time again, for virtually nothing. And it's always the same kind of people. That's why I have a problem with that department. As for living there, I'm glad you enjoy it and that you don't want to live elsewhere. One positive is that it makes your life much easier. Other than that, you can keep it.