I live in the Chicago area. An awful lot of people here are not receptive to hunting. They aren't outdoor people. They're vehemently anti-gun. That spills over onto archery and bowhunting. When a face-painter had been at my kid's school, they wouldn't allow my kids to get a bow and arrow painted on... because it was a weapon. In spite of the National Archery in the Schools Program etc.
Well, my kids (surprisingly) are a little stubborn and aren't willing to be deterred as far as their interests go.
Tomorrow is Halloween. The nine year old has opted to wear a deer costume. I
Great! Right?
Won't bend to the peer pressure of kids and disapproval of teachers who don't value our culture. Much better than donning a costume based on a character in some insipid video game. Right?
Wrong.
The nine year old wanted me to cut an arrow and create a broadhead out of cardboard and aluminum foil and use a wire clothes hanger so that the arrow could stick out of both sides of the "deer".
In my mind's eye, I could already hear the phone call. I could already imagine a picture of my kid going viral and being pilloried for the lack of sensitivity.
I just said, "No. It's not the sort of thing we want to promote. We want pass through shots."
Then I opined that talking about fair chase, free range, organic, tasty venison might not be well received at school, but would be acceptable by my standards... but periodically tipping over and falling to the floor dramatically, causing a disruption in school, would result in a loss of privileges.
I thought I did a good job laying down the line. The wife said that I should've straightened things out... that it was my fault from the beginning.
I told him the costume is real wiener. ;-)
That second one is great. A real dog of a costume...
There's a mental image that I'm gonna be laughing about for DAYS!!!
Do they all run out of the same playbook?
Great job Dad. Looks like many official meetings consuming large chunks of valuable time have been averted.
Maybe a little later in the day though..... a bit of catsup...... a little blood trail..... just sayin'.....
But... one observation for those who lean toward Socialism and Communism.
I would have to say that several kids who are inventorying their Halloween candy display the perfectly natural order of Capitalism. If you take a moment to quietly observe, it's pretty amazing.
I took on the role of government and simply said, "If there's any kind of trading going on, it must be entirely voluntary. Any intimidation or raw dealing will result in extremely steep fines and a Draconian loss of privileges."
The differentiated valuation of their candies made for some interesting horse trading that remained polite and orderly. It pleased me.
Also, the middle one had been at a friend's house for dinner. The 13 year old was aghast at the behavior of the teenage son in the house and his interactions with his grandparents who were visiting. It allowed me to point out that's some of what we're looking to avoid when my wife and I are "the strictest parents ever".
I don't know how strong the epiphany was for the kid, but it's nice to feel like I've scored a small point every once in a while.