# Gonna smack that kid....



## Fod01 (Nov 12, 2011)

Not particularly cold outside today, so I was surpriised when I came home to a 68Â° house.  Had just got a fire going in the stove when my 15yr old son comes down from his room.  He says its freezing up there, and can he plug in the space heater.

Turns out he had 2 of his windows WIDE open.  You'd think that the wind blowing the blinds around would've given him a clue.

Listen close....that sound you hear is the grey hairs popping out of my head.

gabe


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## rottiman (Nov 12, 2011)

With regard to the title of this,  not much sense to doing that now, TOO LATE.......................................


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## Dix (Nov 12, 2011)

Gabe, Buddy ..........


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZx8DrLIQ3A&feature=related


I am a product of the 70's


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## nate379 (Nov 12, 2011)

At least you CAN hit him!

I rent out a room in my house.  Last winter it was a college kid.

Come home one day and he is at school.  I'm doing chores outside and notice that both windows in his room are wide open.  Now it's maybe 30* outside!

Go in the room and the thermostat was cranked at high as it would go!

I never said a damn thing but I did unhook the thermostat!


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## BrowningBAR (Nov 12, 2011)

I stay young and incredibly good looking by not reproducing. I also have no gray hair.

Carry on.

 ;-P


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## Milton Findley (Nov 12, 2011)

I like grandchildren.  They go home with their parents.


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## yooperdave (Nov 12, 2011)

and one more thing!  pull those pants up so that the waistband is above your butt-not below it!


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## Thistle (Nov 12, 2011)

BrowningBAR said:
			
		

> I stay young and incredibly good looking by not reproducing. I also have no gray hair.
> 
> Carry on.
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> ;-P



Same here. Do have a handful of gray,maybe  5-6 last I noticed.More on chin in winter beard than on my head.Time to get out the black walnut husks. ;-P 

yooperdave:  :lol: Exactly.


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## ISeeDeadBTUs (Nov 12, 2011)

NATE379 said:
			
		

> unhook the thermostat!



And require him to assist in gathering wood. Discipline is meant to teach, not hurt. But lets face it, we all know even as adults - those of you that are ;-P - lessons we learn in life sometimes hurt like a b|tch. He needs to understand that he cost the family fuel by not shutting the window so he has to pay it back.


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## snowleopard (Nov 12, 2011)

About a month ago, when I knew I would be faced with a work-related out-of-town trip, I was tying myself into knots trying to figure out how to get more heat into the house.  My son asked me for something, and I explained that right now, getting supplemental heat installed was my priority because I didn't want him dependent upon wood while I was gone.  Following conversation ensued:

him: "Well.  [long pause] How are we heating the house now?"  
me: "With wood." 
him: "But it's freezing out!" 
me: "But it's not freezing inside."
him: "How long has this been going on?"
me: "Since January." 
him: "oh" 
me: 

I was beyond befuddled that he did not realize this.  He knew the boiler had failed.  He knew it had not been repaired.  He helped carry wood in all last winter.  He started and tended numerous fires.  And yet, he did not know that this is how we were heating the house.   I shared this story with a few parents of teenagers, and they howled in laughter, while nodding in recognition.    

Spent the subsequent month trying to figure out how to get some additional heat in here so that he wouldn't be dependent upon wood, and following up each Toyo/Monitor lead in CL, hanging out on the forum seeking advice on the various options, and finally thought I had all the pieces in place.  Someone had some refurbished oil-fired, direct-vent units available for sale, and did installation, and knew my timeline and said he could help.   The date came and went for getting it in, and my son told me it wasn't a problem, he could keep the house warm with the wood stove, and I reconciled myself reluctantly to that. 

I started to talk to him about how to clean out the ashes, and the different burning characteristics of the wood we had, and the need to get wood inside and warm and drying for a few days before it was burned, and how to regulate the stove, and burn cycles.   All things that I felt he was fairly familiar with, but after that conversation earlier, I took nothing for granted, and bombarded him with information.   When I started yet another conversation with, "And one more thing . . . " he finally said, "Look, I know most of this, and if I have questions, I can always call you."  
Oh.  Right. 

Fast forward to Tuesday morning when the phone rings at 6:20 in my hotel room.  "Mom, IT'S FREEZING IN HERE!  It's 52 degrees and I can't get this stove to throw off any heat!"  And suddenly the ears were open, and the mind engaged.  Over the course of the next three days, we had several interesting conversations in which he was eventually explaining to me the burning characteristics of our various woods, and how to regulate the stove, and burn cycles. Even on the night that it dropped to -10 outside, he was on top of things. 

Every day when he came home from school in previous weeks, I'd remind him to feed the dog as soon as he got home.  Each evening when I got home, I'd ask him if he'd fed the dog, and he would tell me he'd forgotten.  When he was on his own, he fed the dog late on Monday.  Monday night, she woke him up in the night and explained that she needed to go outside, and would need to be let back in shortly thereafter.  Tuesday night, he fed the dog as soon as he got home from school, and both got a good night's sleep, and this policy continued for the rest of the week. 

I had people criticize and question my decision to leave him in charge of the house last year when I had to travel, and again this time (it's an annual necessity).  The assumption was that this would be an opportunity he would use to be irresponsible.  In fact, I found the opposite: he rose to the occasion. He managed to feed himself, the dog, the cat, to get himself back and forth to school (slept in one day, not good), and keep the house warm-ish.  I came home yesterday to find the kitchen cleaner than I left it, and the wood rack full, and the stove intact and burning secondaries, and the glass cleaner than I managed to keep it.  He explained to me that if he left the damper cracked just a little, the glass didn't get dirty. 

It's hard to step back, especially in light of their obvious mental lapses, and release responsibility into the hands of the young.  Yet that was how we learned, and this appears to be how these kids will learn, too.  

Take heart knowing that you will have yet another great story to tell your grandchildren about their father, and trust that somehow, when the time comes that these people are running the world, things are going to be okay.  Or sorta, anyway.   This one, to my amazement, can now whip a tie on in less than a minute, requested the purchase of a belt, and enjoys the shine on his new dress shoes.  Two years ago, I had to fight the urge to give an easy tug and pants him when he walked past.  They somehow come together.  We just have to figure out how not to age prematurely while they do.


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## btuser (Nov 12, 2011)

When my sister lived next door I was constantly reminding her not to open the window next to the thermostat.  She would call me to say the heat wouldn't shut off, or that it was too cold, or whatever.   I put alarm contacts on every window, and whenever she would open a window it would disconnect the thermostat.  Also, whenever she would leave the heat would drop down.  

She would call me to tell me the heat wasn't working and I'd tell her to shut her windows.  Then she'd call me back and ask me how I knew she was lying and that one of her windows was open.


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## Mrs. Krabappel (Nov 12, 2011)

Great story Snowie!


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## Flatbedford (Nov 12, 2011)

Great story snowleopard. I am going to make sure my wife reads it. Maybe there is hope.


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## nate379 (Nov 12, 2011)

Once we got old enough 12-13 yrs old or so it was our job to take care of most of the chores.  Feeding the stove, cutting grass, etc.  I can tell you that my Mom or Dad only had to "remind" us once about it because they next time it wasn't so nice of a reminder.


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## Dix (Nov 12, 2011)

NATE379 said:
			
		

> Once we got old enough 12-13 yrs old or so it was our job to take care of most of the chores.  Feeding the stove, cutting grass, etc.  I can tell you that my Mom or Dad only had to "remind" us once about it because they next time it wasn't so nice of a reminder.




Seriously. I'm a firm believer in the unsuspecting "one armed swat" 


Sorry Gabe ... did he close the windows yet  ?????


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## Thistle (Nov 12, 2011)

Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:
			
		

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LOL yes. The slap upside back of the head ala Gibbs & Di Nozzo on NCIS works wonders.I remember a few of those growing up. :lol:


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## loon (Nov 13, 2011)

someone mentioned to me on the board awhile ago that ya 'cant fix dumb'  :coolsmile: 

loon


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## Mrs. Krabappel (Nov 13, 2011)

Here's mine learning the ropes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx_-2dufuws


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## Dix (Nov 13, 2011)

~*~Kathleen~*~ said:
			
		

> Here's mine learning the ropes
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx_-2dufuws



K, I love, love, love, it


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## Mrs. Krabappel (Nov 13, 2011)

Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:
			
		

> K, I love, love, love, it



Thanks,  he's pretty cute when he realizes his own power!


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## Thistle (Nov 13, 2011)

That's awesome. It only gets better.


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## BrotherBart (Nov 13, 2011)

I am off to buy a Fiskars.


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## Fod01 (Nov 13, 2011)

loon said:
			
		

> someone mentioned to me on the board awhile ago that ya 'cant fix dumb'  :coolsmile:
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> loon



Easy there.


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## btuser (Nov 13, 2011)

loon said:
			
		

> someone mentioned to me on the board awhile ago that ya 'cant fix dumb'  :coolsmile:
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> loon



What's that supposed to mean?


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## Mrs. Krabappel (Nov 13, 2011)

BrotherBart said:
			
		

> I am off to buy a Fiskars.



Yes we've been having fun with that all week.  But can you look that adorable when you use it?


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## Dix (Nov 13, 2011)

~*~Kathleen~*~ said:
			
		

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YO, sounds like a challenge


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## BrotherBart (Nov 13, 2011)

~*~Kathleen~*~ said:
			
		

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Well actually...


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## Shadow&Flame (Nov 13, 2011)

O dont they just make you want to go postal sometimes.  Give a teenager
a rubber hammer with a broken handle and they can destroy an anvil.

Woman talking about teen son...funny  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWrj9TaA0Mc


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## BrowningBAR (Nov 13, 2011)

btuser said:
			
		

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That, when you are a teenager, dumb is your main skill set. And this applies to every teenager, me included (when I was a teenager). I remember vividly how I acted and how my thought process worked between the age of 13 and... well...right up until now if I have enough drinks in me.

Looking back on my teenage years I am surprised I didn't set myself on fire or get run over by a car as I was always not paying attention to my surroundings. As a teenager you do incredibly dumb things that can not be avoided. Your brain just does not allow things to work any differently. Oh, occasionally you can focus long enough to sound and function normally, but then things go horrendously wrong at some point. It's like watching a new born deer trying to walk around. Everything is there, and you should be a fully functioning human, but I'll be damned if things just don't work that way.

"Hey, wanna hit some mailboxes with a baseball bat as I drive down the road?"
-Now, as an adult, you think "No, that would be wrong and destruction of private property".
-As a teenager your instant reaction would be "Oh my god, that would be sweet. I bet they'd explode into a million pieces!"

Now, that doesn't mean the teenager wants to destroy private property, it's just that the brain seems to function kind of like a simplistic, b-rated, 80's action film. Females, explosions, stupid stunts, and flawed logic are like crack to the mind of a male teenager.

You can not stop the male teenager from doing dumb things. You can only hope to lessen the frequency.


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## loon (Nov 13, 2011)

Fod01 said:
			
		

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was just friggen joking around!

Terry


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## Mt Ski Bum (Nov 13, 2011)

BrowningBAR said:
			
		

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lmao! Funny, but true, even though I was one of the more civilized ones back in my hgih school days not that long ago...


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## Fod01 (Nov 13, 2011)

loon said:
			
		

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Me too!  No issues...probably should've added a smiley or something
Gabe


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## btuser (Nov 13, 2011)

BrowningBAR said:
			
		

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I'm still confused.


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## BrowningBAR (Nov 13, 2011)

btuser said:
			
		

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Can't help you.


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## pen (Nov 14, 2011)

When you are little, you get a set of temporary teeth designed to fall out.  You mess them up in the first 4 years or so and you get a second chance at things.  Wish the rest of the body could be as lucky.

Fod, Jot that story down and be sure to remind him once he's the father of a teenager.  

pen


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## PapaDave (Nov 14, 2011)

Ya know, this hits a nerve with every parent, I bet.
I thought for sure my son was the devil when he was a teen. I've since found out that he's not.
His intelligence was also suspect at times. I've since discovered that was unfounded, .....he's one of the smartest people I know.
I still have some doubts about the eldest daughter.
Kathleen, I LOVE the look on the boy's face when he gets the split just right. That brought a smile to MY face.
Oldest daughter (when she was younger) would want to walk around the house in shorts and t-shirt and just turn up the stat. Absolutely NO thought about the cost. None. At all. Ever.
snowleopard, great story. 
gabe, you are NOT alone.


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## nate379 (Nov 14, 2011)

Haha.

And the reminder was something like... (Dad would walk in from work).... Hmmm... grass looks pretty tall huh?

The expected response was hearing the mower running in the next 15 seconds... haha!


Oh and "brrr... it's cold in here"... means go make a fire or put more wood in... it doesn't mean to say "well put a sweatshirt on"... I swear that backhand knocked some brains out through my nose!


Oh yeah once us kids left, all of a sudden big 6ft deck "pro" zero turn mower, does the ~4 acres in under an hour.  And no more wood stove, self feeding coal stove now.  Dad said without all us helping wood was too much work and he's getting too old for it (in his 50s)  Can't blame him, heated with wood since a little kid.




			
				Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:
			
		

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## Milton Findley (Nov 14, 2011)

Adolescent brains do not work like adult brains.  From experience, I also know that explaining the functional differences to a teenager is a fruitless exercise.  They are not dumb, they are disorganized and what they know does not always connect with what they do.  

Fortunately, this is temporary, lasting at most about a decade and a half, or two.  

The human race expanded completely around the globe during the course of about one ice age, according to some of the experts I have read.  I am almost certain that it was adolescents who did most of the hoofing because they got tired of being slapped up back of the head.


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## Frozen Canuck (Nov 15, 2011)

Excellent Milt. I don't think I have ever heard the migration of the species explained quite that way. :lol: . Just read it to my wife & she thinks you maybe a decade or so short in that timeline for males. :lol:


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## Milton Findley (Nov 15, 2011)

Frozen Canuck said:
			
		

> Excellent Milt. I don't think I have ever heard the migration of the species explained quite that way. :lol: . Just read it to my wife & she thinks you maybe a decade or so short in that timeline for males. :lol:



Your wife is right, but I have to live with the guys on the forum too.
 ;-)


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## BrotherBart (Nov 15, 2011)

Back when Bill Cosby was funny he used to say that somewhere around twenty years of age kids start settling in and becoming normal when they meet the great equalizer. Rent.


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## Fod01 (Nov 15, 2011)

BrotherBart said:
			
		

> Back when Bill Cosby was funny..



THATS funny.


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## snowleopard (Nov 15, 2011)

Milt said:
			
		

> Adolescent brains do not work like adult brains.  From experience, I also know that explaining the functional differences to a teenager is a fruitless exercise.  They are not dumb, they are disorganized and what they know does not always connect with what they do.
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> Fortunately, this is temporary, lasting at most about a decade and a half, or two.
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> The human race expanded completely around the globe during the course of about one ice age, according to some of the experts I have read.  I am almost certain that it was adolescents who did most of the hoofing because they got tired of being slapped up back of the head.



I have to remind myself (frequently) that these characteristics of the adolescent male were probably critical for the survival of the tribe. 

teenager 1: Let's go into that den and kill the bear that's sleeping in there.
teenager 2: Sweet!  

Granted, attrition was high. 

There's a story or two told that when Athabascan males would become unteachable and an actual danger to those around them, they would be taken to the edge of a cliff, and asked to climb a tall tree that was bent over the cliff.  Someone would be waiting at the bottom ready to cut the tree down . . . but then Athabascans are known for teaching their young through the use of cautionary tales, so this practice may have been talked about more than executed.


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## firefighterjake (Nov 16, 2011)

BrotherBart said:
			
		

> Back when Bill Cosby was funny he used to say that somewhere around twenty years of age kids start settling in and becoming normal when they meet the great equalizer. Rent.



Was that in the days before he found Jello to be so fascinating?


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