Bad things can happen to anyone at any place and at any time. You don’t have to be in a distant country or on an island. It can happen anywhere in America and in any neighborhood. Predators and bad people exist and we are never exactly sure just how close they may be.
This is why we don’t take chances like walking around at three in the morning on a deserted beach or almost any town in America. I feel like my neighborhood is very safe but I’m clueless about who may happen to be driving through it at night or even during the day.
Famous last words that are often spoken are, “This is Mayberry. Nothing like that could ever happen here.” Sadly, it only takes one time for it to happen here, there or anywhere and a life is taken. A family is forever destroyed and a community mourns forever.
Eighteen-year-olds fight in our military. However, they are very supervised by sergeants. They are told where to be, what time to be there and exactly what and how to do it. Most of the time, I felt that my sons were safer in the military than when they were driving around town after midnight.
An 18-year-old on spring break is most likely a long way from Mom, Dad or a dormitory supervisor. Often the temptation to just let go and go wild is too great. There is often plenty of alcohol available, and often poor decisions are made. Perhaps like walking on a beach at 3 in the morning. That’s not necessarily a bad idea if you are with four of five other people that you know very well and who have your back. It’s not a good idea if there is a possibility that they might just walk off and leave you or lose track of what you are doing.
The missing University of Pittsburgh student in the Dominican Republic, Sudiksha Konanki was obviously a very smart girl majoring in biology and chemistry. The 20-year-old was last seen on a beach in Punta Cana on March 6. Our hearts go out to her parents.
We have been reminded of the horrific Natalie Holloway murder. The 18-year-old American high school graduate from Mountain Brook, Alabama, disappeared from the Caribbean island of Aruba on May 30, 2005. She was murdered by Joran van der Sloot.
Parents and young adults should do Spring Break together. No one is going to say “No” like a like loving dad or mom. There is nothing better than having a dad to say, “Have your butt back here by 11:00” or “No, you can’t.”
Being a parent often involves being unpopular at times throughout life. It will be okay down the road
when they are still alive and they come back to say thank you
The reality is that 18-year-olds are adults and will do what they want to do. However, you don’t have to underwrite their travel, car, gas and spending money. You can also think of other ways to get your point across.
Dr. Glenn Mollette is the author of Uncommon Sense, available wherever books are sold.