{"id":97000,"date":"2023-07-26T09:55:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-26T13:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/?p=97000"},"modified":"2023-07-26T09:55:00","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T13:55:00","slug":"the-old-coot-will-tell-your-mother","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2023\/07\/26\/the-old-coot-will-tell-your-mother\/","title":{"rendered":"The Old Coot will tell your mother"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is Old Coot Article # 1,036. It is a revision and update of a topic first published in February of 2012. (Okay, so I got a little lazy this week.) <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m <\/i>going to tell your mother!\u201d That\u2019s what a neighbor said when she caught me cutting through her garden. I was seven years old and on my way to a friend\u2019s house to play Cowboys and Indians. <\/span><\/p>\n

Like all kids, I took shortcuts, going through yards, over fences, along the top of walls, under hedges and yes, between the rows of tomato plants in backyard gardens. It was the law of the jungle in my world; you had to take the shortest route. Unless someone threatened to tell your mother. Then we went the long way. We knew we\u2019d get it when we got home if we didn\u2019t. Usually with a swat to the backside, or worse, a switch to the back of the legs. <\/span><\/p>\n

Some kids had it worse, the ones whose mothers <\/span>didn\u2019t<\/span> handle discipline. They made an \u201carrest\u201d and held the \u201ccriminal\u201d in captivity for the \u201cexecutioner,\u201d by saying, \u201cWait until your father gets home!\u201d Not only would the kid get spanked, we did, but he also had to suffer for hours on death row, knowing when his father came through the door after a long day at work, that he\u2019d really get it. My mother spared me that ordeal; she dealt with my misdeeds on the spot. I learned the immediate connection between my bad behavior and consequences. I was lucky. (So was my father.) <\/span><\/p>\n

Now kids get the \u201cone \u2013 two \u2013 three\u201d business. \u201cStop doing that! I\u2019m going to count to three!\u201d I\u2019m not sure what that means. Usually, the kid keeps right on doing what he was doing until phase two kicks in and mom or dad says, \u201cI mean it; I\u2019m starting to count. Right now!\u201d After about five courses of this meal the punishment is served up, a \u201ctimeout\u201d in a room loaded with toys, video games, computers, and cell phones.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our deal was better. It was over and done with. We shaped up. A threat to tell our mother was powerful. It has no legs anymore. If you threaten a misbehaving kid, you\u2019re apt to get a call from the police for harassment, or a lawyer informing you that you\u2019re being sued. The kid gets off scot-free. It\u2019s a huge loss to society. It\u2019s harder for teachers to teach and for the village to raise the children. We\u2019ve been disarmed. If I could find out who is to blame, I\u2019d go tell his mother!<\/span><\/p>\n

Complaints? Send to mlessler7@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is Old Coot Article # 1,036. It is a revision and update of a topic first published in February of 2012. 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