December 18, 2014 0
Sooner or later we have to eat our own words. Before you become a parent, you say, when I have kids I’m never gonna let them do this or that. Then when you have kids, you let them get away with stuff you swore you’d never allow. But even then, you haven’t learned your lesson. You still remain judgmental. When my kids are teenagers, they’re not gonna do this or that. And then you have teenagers.
Anybody with a brain starts to shut up. You no longer say, my kids won’t do this or that. You soon realize teenagers are capable of anything.
You see parents with two kids. One’s a Straight A student and the other looks like he’s headed for the FBI’s Most Wanted List. Same parents, way different kids.
You count yourself as lucky if you’ve got teens who don’t destroy you. You don’t think so much about what other parents should be doing about their kids; you’ve got your own to worry about.
You finally appreciate the old line, walk in somebody else’s shoes before you start criticizing.
Of course, yapping from the cheap seats isn’t limited to parenting. Coaches, community activists and volunteer non-profits sometimes are subject to broadsides and sucker punches – usually from people who haven’t walked in their shoes.
My beloved Graybeards were recently impugned by some guy named Joe Saunders. He wondered, in a public forum, where all the money from the Sandy 12/12 concert went. How much did the Robin Hood Foundation give to the Graybeards? Did the Graybeards just give money to “their buddies?”
Of course, first things first, Joe Saunders is probably a fake name. Funny that a guy demanding openness and honesty uses an alias. And if Joe Saunders really does exist, that’s great because his name can be attached to abject ignorance.
Joe, you don’t have to write to a newspaper to ask how much the Graybeards got from Robin Hood, it’s easy to find. Robin Hood reported the amount to the IRS. And so did the Graybeards. The information is easily available online. If you don’t have internet access, you can schedule an appointment to see the books. Non-profits are required to make their books available for public inspection. So your demand “If they have nothing to hide let them furnish the books” sounds righteous but it’s just a spotlight on your obtuseness.
Just make an appointment, Joe.
Oh, by the way, just in case you can’t be bothered, The Graybeards got a whopping $75,000 from Robin Hood. If all their buddies split that dough, the 200-plus members would have gotten about $300 a guy.
Joe Saunders might have an agenda. Who knows? What’s more troubling is that he was given a platform to imply things that can easily be refuted. How about we just allow letters to imply anything? Has so-and-so stopped beating his wife? Dear Editor: Is it true there were rats in that restaurant? Dear Editor: Is it true so-and-so robbed a bank but the cops covered it up? Dear Editor: My neighbor, (put in real name) is having an affair with (put in another real name), signed (fake name).
What can I say? Impugn The Graybeards and I get grouchy. It’s a volunteer group that has helped so many. Of course, most of the guys realize No Good Deed Goes Unpunished. They realize some cynical, jealous, naïve, ignorant types might question their motives. It comes with the territory.
But you know what? It’s good to be a Graybeard.
Hey, maybe Joe Saunders will become a volunteer one day. Maybe he will try to raise money to help others. And he’ll become like a parent with teenagers. He’ll suddenly be a lot less judgmental.
Contact me if you like: Editor@rockawaytimes.com.
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