I remember when my son, Jason was a little boy, before I had shared custody when taking him places meant I had to drag his mother, my x-wife, along with us. On one such occasion we stopped at a general store and Jason asked if I would buy him some candy. I told him to pick out one of anything he wanted making no stipulations as to one piece or one pack figuring he would choose a pack of something. Instead, he came to the cash register with his shirt tail pulled out of his pants and filled with dozens of packs and pieces of candies of all kinds. The clerk's eyes were big as saucers as she was anticipating the worst.
Too smart for his own good.
Wanting to be a good father and concerned that my wallet might be over taxed I held to my one item rule and made him return everything to its proper place on the store shelves before choosing the one item he wanted the most. It must have taken us 30 minutes to put everything back where it belonged and pick one item. His mother thought me a monster for doing so. It was a fight we would have over and over again his entire life and I believe a large part of the reason for the diabetes that eventually led to kidney failure and eventually two massive heart attacks, the second heart attack resulting in his death at the age of 34.
I remember the clerk thanking me and telling me that most parents just left the candy out for her to restock-- something I would never even consider.
You see, Jason's mother had grown up a spoiled child in a family that had at one time been somewhat prosperous. She had never been told no so she refused to tell our son, no. When I married, her family still owned over 700 acres of the most sought after real estate in Oak Ridge and Summerfield.
Jason had lost over 100 pounds before he died and was trying to get himself in shape but the damage was done when he was still a child. And despite my best efforts, 2 weekends a month child custody was never enough to break the bad habits being taught him by his mother. I knew for many years her excesses were killing my son and yet I was powerless to stop her. By the time he reached adulthood his health was horrid. I blame his mother for his death and always will.
When I look around Greensboro I see much the same thing. For too long now, a certain few have gotten anything they want believing themselves entitled like spoiled children and looking at any of us who dare say no as if we are monsters. Unlike my Jason who grew up and matured emotionally even if he never was able to recover physically, these elite few continue to think everything that is Greensboro is theirs to gain. The first of these is Greensboro Mayor Robbie Perkins who grew up the spoiled son of a well-to-do Richmond dentist, went to one of the most expensive privately owned universities in the world and grew up getting his way even when it wasn't the best for him or those around him.
Then there's Walker Sanders of the Community Foundation, another spoiled rich kid who graduated from an expensive private university. Together, these two men and a select few others have worked to railroad the building of a downtown performing arts center onto Greensboro taxpayers no matter what the cost or the damage done. And for what? So they can have their way? Because they believe they know better than everyone else and no other opinion matters?
Jason's mother also thought no one else mattered. These men and their kind are destroying the health of our city and the sooner we end their influence higher our chances of recovery. Will Greensboro die a slow painful death as my son died? I certainly hope not but if we don't learn to say no to these spoiled children it surely will.
