Kids and Camping...

Any of you who know me, knows how much I like kids. But this story is about my recent experiences with some rotten ones... and their parents.

This is a holiday weekend. I noticed sometime last week that all the RV spots were reserved for the weekend, so I asked why. This is MLK Jr. weekend, so lots of families with children like to hitch up their trailers and fill the coolers with beer and go camping. A group of 5 or 6 RVs pulled in across from me to party together, each set of parents had 2 or 3 kids, mostly boys, between the ages of 9 to 13.

The first thing I observed out my window is one particularly mean kid throwing rocks. He hit what I presumed to be his brother in the head. I noticed none of the other kids moved to see if he was alright. They just stood there as if moving closer might mean they were guilty of the deed. The little brother sat on the ground holding his head and he started crying, but then he got mad and yelled at his brother for throwing the rock. Older brother didn't seem to care, and no parents came to check though they were only about 50 feet away standing around the campfire.

Second issue: the little campsite next to me is vacant because it has no drain hookup, it also has no fire ring. There is a stump from a dead tree. The boys huddled around the stump and set a fire on it. They fed the fire with dead leaves and branches scavenged from the ground. The oldest boy in the group was the proud owner of the lighter. He decided that instead of taking the fuel to the fire, he would light the pile of leaves at the edge of the forest. I was eating a sandwich when I saw the flames in the pile of leaves. I ran outside and said "No, no, no, no, no. You put that out. That fire can get away from you faster than you think." The boy says: "Alright", and halfheartedly stepped on it a couple of times and walks away. I asked them to please stomp on it real good and make sure it's completely out. I got some really mean looks from the boys for interfering. Then I walked over to the parents and I told them that they really need to keep a closer eye on the fire situation over there, and they responded: "Yeah, they're burning a bunch of stuff." I said: "It's not just the stump, they're trying to set the woods on fire." I got mean looks from the parents. I walked back to my trailer. I kept an eye on the fire next to my trailer and about 10 minutes later two of the Dads wandered over to see what the kids were up to. They stood around the burning stump for a couple of minutes and all the kids just walked away. (I would have made them put it out before leaving, but that's just me.) The men stood alone around the fire for a few minutes, then they walked away from the still-burning stump. Hours later it was still smoldering. Man, my mother would have kicked my ass for stupid shit like that.
Well, apparently I made myself a target for retribution. I heard a loud hit on the side of the trailer and I went out to investigate. I'd been hit by a big pinecone. There are no pine trees around my trailer. Later, I heard another crack. The mean kid was batting rocks with a badminton racket at my trailer. Interestingly, there were three adults just 20 feet away from him, oblivious or silently permissive, I'm not sure which.
They also throw litter everywhere. There are aluminum cans on the ground at the site next to me, there is a paper plate in the middle of the road, and a bag of trash sitting outside. The place is trashed.
I'm so pissed about these kids and their parents.
...I've daydreamed of walking out there with my belt and just giving "dancing lessons" to the one mean kid and daring the parents to stop me.
...I've daydreamed of giving them all squirt guns filled with peroxide, and telling them "Not to squirt each other", which means that they will, so they will all wear stupid white streaks in their hair and nobody will notice until they are all gone from here.
...I've daydreamed of walking over to the adults and telling them how wonderful they all are for taking these retarded children camping.
I've daydreamed a bunch of other stuff which I won't mention here because it borderlines on the criminal, but you get my drift.
At least today is Monday, and they should all be leaving soon. These kids have worried me crazy for three days. Good riddance!
Now I understand the appeal of "adults-only" campgrounds.
I can't wait till they're gone. I'm going to go pick up garbage and do the happy-dance.
Have a great day.
MsAmber