The kids today

[Ron]

Today I had my eyes opened for me.

First I must give a bit of history.... A year and a half ago, a house trailer which I own and sometimes occupy thru some of the winter months in Rocky Mtn. House AB. was vandalized by some local teens(windows broke etc.). As most would do, I complained bitterly about the kids today, no respect, etc. etc.....

Well today I had a visit from a young man who had to find a ride out to this part of the world (2 hrs. drive). He jumped out of a pickup truck, walked over to me, shook my hand and said "Mr. Mckenzie, I have been an ******* and I am so sorry, I was one of them that destroyed your property, and I hope you can forgive me at some point. He then handed me an envelope and said I've found a job and worked hard, saved everything I could. Here sir is a thousand dollars to help pay for my part of the damage... he said I'll never again be so childish or reckless.

It took a great deal of courage for this young man to approach me, admit his part in the whole deal and do what he could to rectify it. (When I say teen, I don't mean 18 or 19, more like 14 or 15) He approached me directly, with good eye contact, a firm handshake, genuine remorse, and spoke to me in a clear, steady and manlike voice. What a great kid!! Humanity is alive and well and there is hope for the up and coming generation! I was impressed! ... Oh and by the way, what he handed me was not a run of the mill cheque, but a bank draft in my name, printed at the local branch.

Thanks to this teenager, I have more faith in humanity than I did at this time yesterday.

[styky]

That young man is well on his way to being a statesman. He must have hit a gold mine when comes to parents. There's not many out there today that would drive home to their child the importance of what happened and what he needed to do to make amends. God bless them all.

[pirapoi]

It took a great deal of courage for this young man to approach me, admit his part in the whole deal and do what he could to rectify it. (When I say teen, I don't mean 18 or 19, more like 14 or 15) He approached me directly, with good eye contact, a firm handshake, genuine remorse, and spoke to me in a clear, steady and manlike voice. What a great kid!! Humanity is alive and well and there is hope for the up and coming generation! I was impressed! ... Oh and by the way, what he handed me was not a run of the mill cheque, but a bank draft in my name, printed at the local branch.

Thanks to this teenager, I have more faith in humanity than I did at this time yesterday.

[shiva]

What an encouraging story! He sounds like a fine young man who is well on his way to becoming a good and honourable grown up man.

[WestViking]

Thank you for posting this.

Our media keeps shoving the stories about the 14 teens in trouble with the law tonight and never, ever cover the sories about the 1,400 teeens who made us proud today.

[Kate Shaw]

When I got on the subway Tuesday night, the first five seats were occupied by men. Three of the five immediately rose and offered me their seats. I thanked them all with a cheerful smile and rejoiced in the return of the Gentleman. I would like to note that none of these Gentlemen were under 40, and that the two who remained seated, hunched over the two inch screen displaying Action Moviesw, were teenagers. I find this pattern consistent -- and am happy to report that the rise of gentlemen 40+ seems to be a trend. I have also noted that the women who rise to offer me a seat range from approximately 15 to 50.

[Ben Kenobi]

Why am I not surprised that Kate is attacking the young kids as usual.

I used to do it all the time when I was riding a bus - and the 'ladies' used to shoot me dirty looks everytime I did it.

There's a reason why lots of men don't do it anymore- they are tired of getting hollered at.

[dwday]

Why am I not surprised that Kate is attacking the young kids as usual.

I used to do it all the time when I was riding a bus - and the 'ladies' used to shoot me dirty looks everytime I did it.

There's a reason why lots of men don't do it anymore- they are tired of getting hollered at.

I've heard about that, but have never seen it in my neck of the woods. A smile and a thank-you are all I've ever received.

[Julian]

What a great story. Most kids are good kids inside, but even at that this fellow is an exception!

I agree with W.V. that most kids are good kids and we don't hear about the good ones, just the negative stuff.

It was the same when we were young ourselves, the older generation thought the world was going to hell in a hand basket if we were to be the future. That never changes. I recall one night when my own father was in his 80's and we pulled into an ice cream store with my sons in tow. There were about 7 or 8 older teens or early 20's on road rockets out side the store laughing and generally enjoying themselves and dad shook his head and disgustedly remarked about how someone should call the cops and have this riff raff removed from the place. I stopped him dead in his tracks when I pointed out that they weren't doing anything wrong whatsoever, they were young and enjoying their life and that if he were their age in he'd be right in the thick of it himself! That got through.

As we age we tend to suffer from selective memory syndrome and get bitter towards youth. It doesn't have to happen and it won't if we're mindful about it. The youth today looks different, talks different but their hearts and minds are as good as ours ever were and the majority will turn out just fine.

[Faramir]

When I got on the subway Tuesday night, the first five seats were occupied by men. Three of the five immediately rose and offered me their seats. I thanked them all with a cheerful smile and rejoiced in the return of the Gentleman. I would like to note that none of these Gentlemen were under 40, and that the two who remained seated, hunched over the two inch screen displaying Action Moviesw, were teenagers. I find this pattern consistent -- and am happy to report that the rise of gentlemen 40+ seems to be a trend. I have also noted that the women who rise to offer me a seat range from approximately 15 to 50.

I have been on busses that are full where you see a person (usually a 20 something) taking up 2 seats, one of which is their purse or bag. This young "lady" was doing that one day, so I asked "Can you sit here please?". The look she gave me was one of utter disdain but she did move. I have to wonder why she thought she was so damn special that she shouldn't have to share a bench seat?

Glad to know not all young people are the same as her.