What do you do with boys who behave badly? Maybe the first thing you do is put it in perspective. Is the deed itself worse than the fact that the child disobeyed his parents? Or, is the act of slinging toilet paper in an act of retaliation shameless and abhorent to the point where it deserves a spanking of sorts. We're not believers of the time-old adage "spare the rod and spoil the child" so we're more likely to take away the toys. Take away the things he enjoys most so he knows full well that actions have consequences. Taking away the cell phone may well have the biggest impact and had that been considered beforehand then the deed itself might not have occured. The things you think about after the fact.

Clearly, we never anticpated that he would spend as much time as he does on the cell phone. His texting is and has been way out of control since we purchased the phones in August. The experts might tell you that to be connected in this day and age means reaching out in ways that seem unorthodox to those of us who grew up in an age when personal computers were new to the scene and ham and two-way radios were all the rage. That doesn't make it right. It does make it slightly more difficult to manage and getting your arms around his network of connections is just short of impossible. When and where we catch wind of absurdities the likes of which happened last night, we are quick to head them off. We are not always as successful as we'd like to be. Maybe these are oportunities that we as parents ought to be more appreciative of. No one was hurt. No property was damaged. The kids, all of whom are not known at this point, probably got a cheap thrill. But, you know how one thing leads to another. That's what our parents taught us.

We had our first wood stove the other night. Seems awfully cold awfully early this year. While writing in this here blog, a young buck strolled into our backyard looking nervous but stopped long enough to smell the grass and take a look around. He was maybe a two pointer with a fine coat and looking very healthy. He didn't stay long enough for Nancy to get a picture but maybe next time if there is a next time. Maybe he was on the run. It is hunting season after all. We've not seen any hunters down our road but they may be in the woods nonethless coming in from other roads on the periphery. Well, enough for today. I'd like to see the Angels beat the Yanks at least once while they are in Tinsletown for the ALCS playoff's. God, it would have been even nicer to see them go down in the first round. If there is a god, let them not win the World Championship this year. That is my prayer.