Camped at Fisherman's Point on Richland Chambers this weekend. Fishing was good, crowds were large and wind blew tent to pieces Sat night. What really upset me was three young teenagers that were swimming near my boat Sat afternoon. With parents and other adults watching they engaged in a mud fight that absolutely covered the inside of my boat with mud. Rods,reels,carpet,seats, electronics, etc. were slathered!!!! When I came over the hill to get something out of the boat I saw what had happened I asked the kids where their parents were - they played dumb and said they didn't know. I found them and showed the dad what they did. He nonchalantly said "boys clean that up" and walked away. I wasn't about to let them into my boat. They splashed water on the outside and wiped it with their hands. I got angrier as I realized the parents were taking no responsibility for their kids actions - made me think about leaving a pile of chum in their boat. What would you have done? I ended up wiping and sweeping for 30 minutes to make the boat usable. Needless to say it was the low point of a decent weekend. In my opinion, parents like this are the hemorrhoids on the posterior of society. Thanks for letting me vent. Next year I probably won't be camping with the masses. Hope you all had a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend.

I would have to say I would chock it up as a lesson learned.

Unfortunatly folks like that dont give a rats arse about what there kids have done and they themselves are probably guilty of much worse

On big holiday weekends more times than not me and my wife just stay home opting to not have to deal with the boneheads.

It is a shame tho because not all folks are like that and im sure we miss out on meating some very nice folks.

I'm a very peacfull person and like Hawke said I to usually don't go to these holiday outings just for that reason. In this case.Their boat would have had more chum in it than evry kitty in that lake could eat.

_Hey S Watts: You are to be commended for this Display of Self Control!! Wow I'd have been P/O'd Beyond Belife!!

_I know a hand full of Bait Shrimp in the Bilge Vents or Live well will make a stink they wont soon forget!! Especially if they keep their boat in the garage!! I had a Bass Puke up a Crawfish in my live well once...about a week later I went out to get ready for a tournament and smelled a faint dead smell...open the live well and Dang!! Almost fell out of the boat Backwards trying to get away from that smell!!

_If this Ever happens to you...get the water hose and fill the well about 1/2 full..pour in a Quart of Bleach and let it sit 2 hours Minimum. Use a bait dip net to get all the big pieces of the critter out of the well then drain it. Use paper towels to get the scumm out that's left and put a Big Box of Baking Soda in the well for a few days. Gets all the stink out!!

_Good Luck and Watch Out For 3 Time a Year Boating Idiots on Holiday Weekends Yall!!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Bazztex<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

It's one thing when kids make a mistake and they learn from it. It's another when you have parents that don't handle the issues and attempt to make the mistake better. Kids are going to make their own choices (right or wrong), but that is where we,as parents,have to try to teach them whats right and wrong. It just blows my mind the number of parents that could care less what their kids do or where their at.
Sorry to hear about your experience. You controlled yourself alot better than I would have. Control is good,but their boat filled to the rim with mud would have given me great satifaction.LOL.

Keep Reel'n
Vance

This is a sensitive subject for me, folks...When kids are left to make their own choices, they will inevitably make the wrong choices...I've seen parents watch their kids break glass bottles on sidewalks, seen kids in drug rehab. who smoke pot with their parents, and heard the parents blame the child's behavior on television and movies and music. Guess what? There are more love songs and movies out there than anything. If songs and movies could make us do things, we'ld all love one another-and that ain't happening!
Parents that don't take responsibility for the kids should be held 100% accountable for their kids actions-either that or hung up by the short hairs!
You did good, though. However, their boat would have been 10 times dirtier than mine (dirty, not damaged)! What you give you get back ten fold-I haven't read anything that says I can't be the one to give the 10 fold! As is the general view, I do NOT go out on holiday weekends except daybreak until about 0930 or 1000. There are Thanksgiving Day turkeys (good) and there are Memorial Day turkeys (bad). The best way to not get mugged when walking past a dark alley is to not walk past the dark alley!

Camp around "old" people (like me) and NEVER leave a boat close to a swimming area where there are kids, unless you can see it from where you are. If there are kids in the water then it's a swimming area, LOL. But the easiest thing to do is stay home on holidays.
We used to camp at McCown Valley on Whitney back before they put up the pipe fencing around the day use area. We were there on Labor Day and had 6 familys with us and had put up 8 tents. This idiot at 2 in the morning decided he was going to leave and hauled but right between our tents. Lit up the inside like a train was coming thru. We got up and put our boat trailers around so no one else could do the same and the idiot comes back an hour later and almost hit our trailers and started cussing. We (all 11 men) came out from where our fire was with chains and tire tools and that succker almost tore his tranny out going so fast backwards, LOL. He never came back. That was the LAST time we camped on holidays, 1983. They are worse now I believe.

I would have broke out the ole shovel and showed them what mud was. And if they did'nt like that I would hope for their sake there were more than two of them because it would take at least that many to take the Big Un down. I stay home on holidays because thats when the stupid people come out!!

Speaking here as a mother, but if I ever saw one of mine enfringe on anyone else, there was trouble to pay. All I had to do is look at them and they knew mama wasn't happy. It is in my openion laziness for a parent to not make a child responsible and as my two will tell you no matter how old they are. Although now they are 24 and 25 yrs old and I really don't have as much control as I used to. LOL< Sharon

[This message has been edited by sharonwilson01 (edited 05-26-2003).]

Ya'll are much too nice and easy going!
Kids of all ages need to learn that there is a conseqence for their actions and if the parents are not willing or able to give them the necessary lifes lessons then a friendly visit by the local sherrif and a trip to see the judge is very much in order in this circumstance.
Vandalism is a crime whether it is the result of horseplay or criminal intent. It's a good thing it happened to someone besides myself who is a little more forgiving... or someone not angry enough to do something about it...the Right Way and not whupup on someones kid.
I asked some local kids to stay off my boathouse last year as it is dangerous to swing off it with all the old metal and broken glass in the water under the slip and I do not want some irate parent sueing me ... after several times I made an issue of it and asked one smartmouthed brat where he lived. When he asked why I said that I was going to take the rope swings they kept hanging off my boathouse with garbage and trash they left behind and go tie them to his front porch and invite all my friends so we could trash his house like they had trashed mine...I said fair is fair isn't it and I'm sure YOUR parents won't mind will they? Besides since he couldn't read at the age of 14 any of the 5 Keep Off and Posted signs that are all around the boathouse I figured that was only fair ... he never answered me but I haven't seen them since...yet.
I hope you got a name ... I sure would have. But then I'm a hard [censored] about this kind of [censored]... and a proud graduate of the Tough Love program.

Criminals are not born they are made ..by OUR - all of us - inattention and lack of willingness to hold people responsible...and Richard Pryor's line about "The Devil Made Me Do It" doesn't cut it.

Respect for other peoples property is a foreign thought for some people today ...but watch 'em squeal when it belongs to them when its trashed. I'm sure your boat was free and all the tackle that was trashed was free too ...right? I didn't think so. Mine isn't but maybe your is...but then I'm a crusty ole SOB too who expects to be treated like I treat other people...wonder where THAT original thought came from ... "Do Unto Others"...or in todays trash talk "what goes around ...comes around".
Ron
PS I don't say any of this to rub salt into the wound... but to simply put a different attitude into the foregoing posts of "thats too bad but kids will be kids and especially since the parents won't DO anything". BTDT and will never tolerate it again. It is a sad commentary on SOME parents and kids today. I taught a Texoma neighborhood 10 year old to throw a cast net yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to hear "Mister" and "Thank You" with a smile on his face and his eyes sparkling with the new knowledge... THAT made my day! Maybe there is hope after all.
RV