Children should experience this ...

[Stitch]

I'm as guilty as any other parent for monitoring my kids closer than I was. Of course I didn't live next to kids whose moms slept all day, except when the deadbeat ex-husband comes around for a fight. Nor did I live next to some guy asks to make a phone call every week because his phone got shut off (the guy has money for cigarettes and booze, though).

It's sad, since my wife and I were raised middle class, but now we make it on my paltry newspaper salary, which means renting in our city.

 

[waterytart]

Catch fireflies.

Make s'mores at a campfire.

Eat Wintergreen Lifesavers in the closet with a friend.

Put full make-up on an adult.

Dive (or jump) off the high board.

 

[JR]

Any volunteer parent, even for preseason practice, has to have a background check and wear a signed card with a photo ID at all times they are on the field or in dugout or working the concession stand or grounds.

Do you live in The People's Republic of China?

Do they have all the parents submit to mandatory drug testing as well?

That's pretty ****ed up

 

[farmerjerome]

Ride on a haunted hayride while they're young enough to be scared.

Sneak out and party all night.

PS. Halloween was never about my parents. Maybe before I knew what the holiday was and they dressed me up in a pumpkin costume, but I always enjoyed picking out my own. Mom didn't care what I was, she just knew it was that time of year when we had to go somewhere and pick out make-up.

 

[kickoff-time]

Any volunteer parent, even for preseason practice, has to have a background check and wear a signed card with a photo ID at all times they are on the field or in dugout or working the concession stand or grounds.

Do you live in The People's Republic of China?

Do they have all the parents submit to mandatory drug testing as well?

That's pretty ****ed up

Here is part of the form and remember this is just one of about six forms you have to fill out:

AS A CONDITION OF VOLUNTEERING, I give permission for the Little League organization to conduct a background check on me, which may include a review of sex offender registries, child abuse and criminal history records. I understand that, if appointed, my position is conditional upon the league receiving no inappropriate information on my background. I hereby release and agree to hold harmless from liability the local Little League, Little League Baseball, Incorporated, the officers, employees and volunteers thereof, or any other person or organization that may provide such information. I also understand that, regardless of previous appointments, Little League is not obligated to appoint me to a volunteer position. If appointed, I understand that, prior to the expiration of my term, I am subject to suspension by the President and removal by the Board of Directors for violation of Little League policies or principles.

 

[93Devil]

Swimming lessons

See fireworks

Every kid should also go to the beach, even for a day a couple times in their life.

Oh, when you are playing baseball seriously that whiffle bat destorys your swing for weeks.

 

[JackReacher]

So wait. People in the newsroom really did dress up for the Oscars?

 

[Runaway Jim]

Jesus, ****. I bet you're a real gas to party with. Good lord.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Jesus, ****. I bet you're a real gas to party with. Good lord.

This has been addressed. The fact that I don't think children should wear Halloween costumes to school has nothing to do with my personality as a whole. I like a good time as much as anyone. I want kids to have fun. I also think there's a time and a place for it.

Routine is very important to children, especially children that age. The distraction of costumes on Halloween disrupts that routine in a manner that has ramifications beyond just that day.

 

[kickoff-time]

So wait. People in the newsroom really did dress up for the Oscars?

Yes the ones in entertainment. One wore an Elizabethian costume. They were actually classy and not tacky. It's a Sunday night and once a year.

Not much different than dressing up for an NFL game, which some people at our paper do each Sunday and a lot of folks did when the city's NFL team made the Super Bowl.

The newsroom also has an annual Hawaiian shirt day to honor one of our longtime editors who loved Hawaiian print shirts and had died of cancer years before.
I'm sure that tradition would be beneath people like **** Whitman though since it is so non-professional.

And I know this will violate all that is right and proper, but the newsroom has (gasp!) an actual Christmas tree with lights and everything. As far as I know, no one has died or gotten ill from it.


I'm still trying to grasp how wearing a Halloween costume has major ramifications beyond that one day. Routine is important for children and the routine of being able to wear a Halloween costume on Halloween logically seems to follow that pattern or it used to.

 

[RickStain]

If you guys are having fun, that's your call I guess. But it all sounds hella lame.

 

[Dick Whitman]

So wait. People in the newsroom really did dress up for the Oscars?

Not much different than dressing up for an NFL game, which some people at our paper do each Sunday and a lot of folks did when the city's NFL team made the Super Bowl.

Awesome. Maybe on the next Election Day, the sports department will be able to cheerfully don their Obama or Romney T-shirts.

 

[kickoff-time]

If you guys are having fun, that's your call I guess. But it all sounds hella lame.

What exactly sounds lame? This a major metro with people from all over the U.S. and about 12 different countries, so you have a varied mix of cultures.

No one forces entertainment to dress up on Oscar night and it is about 6 people total. I'm sure lots of people think it's as lame as the NFL gear.

I fail to see what is lame though about trying to honor a respected editor who died from cancer by wearing a Hawaiian shirt once a year. Again it is all voluntary.

 

[kickoff-time]

So wait. People in the newsroom really did dress up for the Oscars?

Not much different than dressing up for an NFL game, which some people at our paper do each Sunday and a lot of folks did when the city's NFL team made the Super Bowl.

Awesome. Maybe on the next Election Day, the sports department will be able to cheerfully don their Obama or Romney T-shirts.

Geez, it's on a Sunday when no editors are around and again it is very few people. It's an NFL jersey not facepaint and the whole nine yards. If it makes you feel better our editors are required to wear ties and dress shirts daily.

Nice job though again avoiding the question about the long-term ramifications of a Halloween costume at school.

 

[kickoff-time]

****,

Do you wear a dress shirt and tie every day to work? If you do is it because you have to or want to?

Now I am in the office all the time and rarely have direct contact with coaches, players, the general public. I still occasionally waer ties and everyone usually wears dressy casual. It's not like we come to work in flip flops and muscle shirts. These are very isolated days I'm talking about.

If I was a reporter and out in the public eye I would dress up every day, except maybe if I covered a 12-hour track meet or something like that.

On a more serious note, every child should experience the rolling newspaper presses and be able to get their hands dirty from fresh newsprint - before all the presses are gone.

I still think it's something special to see the first copies come off a press and then get clearer as the registration gets better. Unfortunately, the press is miles from our office so I don't see that now.

 

[JackReacher]

Gotta agree with Rick. Dressing up for the ****ing Oscars? Couldn't be more lame.

The Hawaiian shirt to honor the old SE? No problem with that. But c'mon....dressing up for the Oscars? The only people who should be doing that are the people wearing a tux or a dress to the actual show.

 

[JR]

We have Talk Like a Pirate Day at our office.

 

[kickoff-time]

We have Talk Like a Pirate Day at our office.

Arrrrh ya kiddin' me?

 

[kickoff-time]

Gotta agree with Rick. Dressing up for the ****ing Oscars? Couldn't be more lame.

The Hawaiian shirt to honor the old SE? No problem with that. But c'mon....dressing up for the Oscars? The only people who should be doing that are the people wearing a tux or a dress to the actual show.

Yes, nobody in sports would be caught dead wearing one. We're way too cool for that. It's the entertainment folks. They are dullards like 364 days of the year. The Hawaiian shirt guy was a news editor, not sports.

Apparently back in the day (like 1960s) taking a break for alcohol was common in the newsroom using code words. Joe says: "Hey Charlie I need to move my car." Joe comes back smelling a little different than he did before "moving his car." Ah, what fun they had in the days of hot type.

 

[Dick Whitman]

So wait. People in the newsroom really did dress up for the Oscars?

Not much different than dressing up for an NFL game, which some people at our paper do each Sunday and a lot of folks did when the city's NFL team made the Super Bowl.

Awesome. Maybe on the next Election Day, the sports department will be able to cheerfully don their Obama or Romney T-shirts.

Geez, it's on a Sunday when no editors are around and again it is very few people. It's an NFL jersey not facepaint and the whole nine yards. If it makes you feel better our editors are required to wear ties and dress shirts daily.

Nice job though again avoiding the question about the long-term ramifications of a Halloween costume at school.

Not avoiding it. Just don't have too much time right now to write a dissertation on the importance of children and routine. When I get a little window of time to do so, I'll attempt to put together a more coherent argument about it so I'm not just spouting intuition.