A little excitement in the neighborhood last evening. I was sitting watching a movie when there was a really loud CRASH! noise outside. I live at the start of a steep hill going up to the university a half-block away, and a pizza delivery fellow had parked at the top of the hill to make a delivery. He left his car in 'park', engine running and dashed to the house. His car somehow went into neutral, the car rolled backwards, gaining speed, and plowed into my neighbor's new red prius. Totaled both cars. The poor kid was distraught, moaning that he was going to lose his job...."...and my parents just bought me this car!"
All the neighbors were out, it was like a mini-block party.
His first thought was on his job, not your neighbor's car. This sounds like the norm for a young man. I hope he learnes something from this, like setting the hand brake.
ReplyDeleteThe poor kid was walking up and down the street, asking what he should do.
DeleteI mentioned immature frontal cortexes just the other day. His parent's, too.
ReplyDeleteI have a granddaughter with blue hair. Actually, two blue haired granddaughters. One is 22, one is 10.
I like it, hell, I may turn my silver hair blue.
DeleteI'm the mom of the above kids, Joanne. And I don't see dying a teenager's hair as being a decision born of an immature prefrontal cortex. What better time to explore a wide variety of aesthetic choices, than when you're figuring out who you are? Especially since there are no college admissions officers, bosses, landlords, or anyone else to impress, who might have significant impact on your ability to do your thing.
DeleteI didn't allow zir to do any dying that required bleaching (C's natural hair color is almost black) until age 13, because ze had sensitive skin, and that's a lot of chemical processing for one weekend. But I did henna over-dyes before then, which ended up being shockingly beautiful.
Dying hair crazy colors is one of the safest fringe/rebellious/unconventional things a teenager can do. Weird piercings, india ink home tattoos, smoking, drugs and alcohol, joining the Campus Republicans, poorly thought out sex, putting all their personal life and identifying information on social media, experimenting with Catholicism or Jews For Jesus, these are all teen behaviors that have varying degrees of risk that outweigh the benefits, if any. But having your mother spend a couple hours on a weekend, and then being stuck at home for 8 hours while the dye works? Not even a blip on the risk radar, and actually has benefits for one's sense of autonomy and self-image.
I'm thinking about a purple streak in my dyed-auburn hair. I'll have said 16 year old help me with it. My pre-frontal cortex is just fine, so I don't know what my excuse is, though.
Joanne, got my kids back here. She's the best parent I've ever known, and she's correct.
DeleteIt appears to me that Joanne neglected to put a space between her two comments. The first, about immature frontal cortexes, reminded me of an article I read recently about problems young drivers can face when they're stressed. Obviously, that poor young pizza delivery kid wasn't entirely focused.
DeleteThe second part where she mentioned having two blue haired granddaughters was simply a statement of fact.
Ah. Oops. I live in a fairly conservative suburb, so I guess I'm used to people eyerolling my kids' aesthetic choices, and my "allowing" them. (As if anyone can "allow" or not "allow" a 16 year old to dye their hair, if they're determined.)
DeleteI would have run out to see if any pizza made it to the road......I would have ate it
ReplyDeleteYeah, but you Ingles are odd people. Likeable, but odd.
DeleteYou should totally dye your hair. Truthfully, I've seen more than one individual of a certain age with shades of blue, green, red, yellow, or pink interspersed with the silver.
ReplyDeleteI think he'd look pretty good with a blue streak. Other than the one coming out of his mouth, that is.
Deletenot the electric indigo of his grandkid, though. I think maybe a dark periwinkle or french blue.
DeleteThat's it, I'm cutting you two off.
DeleteNo enouraging my daughter, Robbie. Bad enuf as it is.....
DeleteAnd you, young lady. Be careful what you wish for.......
DeleteNext time you come out, Em, C, and I will fight over who can do it for you, even.
DeleteMy son went through a blue hair phase.
ReplyDeleteJust read back through the posts I'd missed. The guns-everywhere laws are making me crazy. How can anyone think that's sane?
Hey, good to see you.
DeleteYeah, well how can they. Depending on where you now live, go ask your neighbors......bet you'll be surprised.
Oh my. Talk about bad luck.....A crash into the side of my car by a teenager in Colorado led an angry me to counsel a crying teenage boy "now this is why we have insurance and I doubt your mother will really kill you...;)
ReplyDelete