Chimes

Em had a hand chime concert Monday night. I'm just now getting around to posting it, of course.

It was, as you can see in the video, a good show.

I sat down in the front row, right across it turns out, from where Em would be ringing. She was scowling at me, and when I asked what was wrong, she growled, 'That row is reserved, Dad!'

Oops, her big, bald, Hawaiian shirt-wearing Dad had made it obvious she did not recently arrive, via inter-dimensional transport, from Quelig Nine in the Klaah-liµ Gøårschvelt galaxy, but has actual biological parents. Oh, the shame.



I moved back a row, next to a woman who clearly had her hands full. A kid I'd guess to be roughly one year old in a carrier, and another I'd guess to be two in the seat next to her. This on top of, no doubt, one of the singers or ringers on the stage.

But this two year old was a problem. Or rather, his Mom was. You can hear him in the video clips, though not really in his full glory. He speaks out a lot here, but there were other songs during which he wailed full force. She pretended not to notice for the most part, though she did bother to smack his hand when he threw a pencil at the people behind us. Then he really screamed.

At what point in her son's terrible behavior did she remove him from the auditorium as a courtesy to the other parents in the audience? There was no such point, though it strained credulity after the kid started hitting her as hard as he could over and over. Mom, though, again pretended it wasn't happening.

I'm an old hand at taking the disruptive kid out of the show. I caught about 20% of the shows at the Cosmosphere when I took the girls there on vacation because when a try or two doesn't get Mo to pipe down, I remove her from the room. It doesn't matter if I want to watch the show. I've left movies, school events, church services, I don't know what-all.

This is just part of being a parent. Not doing this qualifies you as a full-fledged no excuses Asshole.


Hand Chimes & Choir Concert Highlights from Chixulub on Vimeo.

I know, you need a license to catch a fish or own a dog, but they'll let any jerk have babies. I wonder what this pathetic excuse for a mother will do when her little sociopath starts hitting hard enough to hurt. Or when he moves on to bed wetting and torturing animals in his adolescence.