BILL'S: Christmas Spirit in Texoma (again)

It is sad when the Christmas Spirit fills the air in Texoma. Right now the schools are at odds. Whitesboro School system seems to be getting ready for the new "School starts after Labor Day" law that goes into effect next year. They are still in school as the surrounding school districts have now released for the Christmas Holiday. We were welcomed this week to another child-like Texoma Christmas special. Monday night, bored kids from the area went around and smashed up the neighborhood's mailboxes (again).

One thing about Texoma is that there is absolutely nothing for teens to do, but to drive around and destroy things. This is the first area I have lived in that does not have activities for teens and children. I have always been around places with teen clubs and teen hangouts. They have even had educational events for children. The Cultural Activities Center used to always have art exhibits, free classes on art or low cost classes on pottery and ceramics. I remember attending seminars with local poets who wanted to make sure that their love for the art was passed on to another generation. Here there is nothing of the sort. Here there are two possibilites for kids.

First, go to Wal-Mart to hang out. In my day it was the mall, but in today's society and the way Wal-Mart has taken over this area, it has put the mall out all but out of business. So there really is no way to take your kids to the mall now. Everyday, especially on the holidays, I see parents pull up outside of Wal-Mart and drop their kids off so they can spend hours walking around in large groups, destroying things inside the store and stealing. They walk around and terrorize other groups of kids, screaming at each other across softlines. Where are the parents? They do not get out and join their kids, they are not in the store shopping. No, they are looking for a free babysitter for their problem child and want the associates at Wal-Mart to deal with them.

The only other choice is to drive around and destroy. Which has become very evident. Every school holiday, our neighborhood gets attacked by bat wielding kids driving by at night and destroying the mailboxes. The streets are usually lined with beer bottles and empty alcohol bottles the next day. Again, where are the parents? Parents around here really don't care about their children, only their image in the local society. Children here are allowed to run free with no rules and no discipline. Again, it is so sad that parents just don't care enough to try to start some kind of program for children, or even try to discipline their kids. It is sad that parents don't want to spend time with their kids or know where their kids are going at all hours of the night. And what is worse, the "I don't care" attitiude is very contagious. The local Grayson County Sheriff's Department doesn't want to do anything about stopping this menace. They know the pattern, they know the routes the vandals take. But again, in most areas this is considered a felony. In Grayson County, it is classified as "Not Worth My Time."

Sad, parents who don't care. Sheriffs who don't care. Kids who don't care. And here it is the time of giving and caring, and this is all you get -- vandalism. And now a neighborhood who doesn't care. One thing I have noticed this week, no one has taken the time to try to fix the mailboxes this time. It isn't even worth it anymore.