Post #341872 by tiki mick on Sat, Nov 3, 2007 11:45 AM

On the ride home, I at least had the awesome Tikiyaki orchestra CD to listen to, which I must say is a work of genius. Pretty much every song on it is golden. I really wish they had been able to play last night, but most of the band showed up anyway. I met them and they are all very cool guys! Slapbass, that Scotch was so smooth!!

The only negative part of the evening was dealing with a new societal problem I am encountering more and more, that being the inability of parents to control thier children. I see it all too often these days, with parents (who are not bad parents, just "lazy" parents)absolutely not caring how their children behave in public, and subjecting everyone else around them to it as well. I see it in restaraunts, where the children scream and cry and throw tantrums. You are trying to eat with a modicum of peace and quiet, yet the child is screaming, Complaining to the parent only rewards you with a dirty look, as though it is somehow YOUR fault for daring to complain. On airlines, the child will scream and cry for hours on a trans-oceanic flight. It's hell. And if you bother complaining, YOU are the bad guy, not them! They bring small children to theaters, where they ruin the experience for everyone. They bring small babies to Disneyland, pushing them in mini humvee sized strollers that effectively take the physical space of 4 people. The babies are too small to enjoy Disneyland anyway, yet the parents take them. Just try to go on a weeknight to disney, and watch how these parents have small babies there even at 9 or 10 pm! Those nights used to be for teens and other people who wanted to avoid the saturday crowds.

Likewise, a Tiki event like this, with copious amounts of alcohol being consumed all around, and they feel the need to bring the toddler, who proceeds to veer dangerously close to the band's expensive equiptment over and over again. My bass is custom made, and cost three grand. My steel player's guitar was built in 1951 and has no monetary value. it's priceless and unreplaceable. Once a treasure like that is tipped over and damaged, no money can bring it back. I don't say they are bad parents, but just "lazy". Their child's behavior becomes everyone else's problem, and that is just not right! I understand children are rowdy, fidgety and like to explore. However, until they are at the age when they won't do these things, they should not be invited to any event or taken anywhere else where their behavior impacts everyone else. My parents would have yanked us out of any place we were acting up at, or better yet, I remember a thing called "Babysitters" which my parents used quite a bit so they could have their adult time, and go to adult parties. MY parents knew I would act up, so guess what? I was rarely taken anywhere like that. Least not until I was older, and not likely to knock a priceless piece of art over, or put my hands on a musical instrument that does not belong to me.

I will tell this to those parents who insist that their child has a right to do and go wherever they want: Bring your damn checkbook! You WILL be paying for what your child broke!

'nuff said.