Don't Be a Menace While Smoking Your Cigarettes In the Park


Around 4:00 pm, Z. and I toted the boys down to the local park in Archer. It is not much, just a few play structures under some trees, a swing set, and five tractor tires half-buried in the ground. But it is nearby, and the boys were in desperate need of a structured activity (kids go apes without structure.).

I had forewarned Z. that the park is in a state of disrepair, please don't expect too much. Really, we didn't expect much at all.

Our expectations, however, did not include witnessing a drug deal as we drove up to the park.

Perhaps that is not what we saw, but it met all the stereotypical signs of one: young guy waiting alone in car in an "out-of-the-way-yet-well-known-meeting-place," bass pumping out of his car, and a lot of other cars that suddenly drive up.

Maybe it wasn't a drug deal. But it certainly was stereotypical. These folks then continued to stay at the park with their young child and partake in all of the activities that make me cringe:

1: Eating white-bread and mostly refined, processed junk food. Think eating the tomato from your burger fulfills your week's quota of vegetable nutrition.

2: Chain smoking cigarettes in front of your babies and children, even though everyone knows THIS IS VERY BAD FOR THEM.

3: Being grossly obese.

4: Talking about complicated adult matters (ex: "I'm gonna beat her F#%$^#ng @$$") in front of your kids.

5: Consistently ignoreing your kid and then wondering why he is misbehaving and whining about it.

6: Littering.



The disheartening thing is that instead of saying anything about the smoking, I just looked at Z. and rolled my eyes and took Issac to the other side of the park. I was close to saying something, but couldn't really find the right words. Afterall, this is a free country.

I think, next time though, I am going to tell the person smoking that my son has a serious case of asthma and that cigarette smoke could trigger a life-threatening attack. My, my, how the world has changed.