You have it all here; thats the problem you kids have too many choices of things to do.

golf, tennis, swimming(you don't have to wait for a friend to invite you, Kedron pool is nice and open all the time) work out at the gym; take an online class and learn something new(oooppps sooorry I lost my head again) cycling rollerblading, walking, running, take the dog to the dog park and meet new people, reading(oooppps I am out of touch) get a summer job so you can save money for college, help your parents with chores around the house(ok I know I should be jailed for that one sooorrry)
I am sure some of your friends have a car they can take you to the movies. Take a class at the Kedron Field house they have many different classes in fun things art,music,photography,etc. Volunteer for a cause you believe in ie: homeless pets, people the elderly,meals on wheels.
You say you have had a gun safety class why not join the 4-H gun club they win almost every competition they enter.

We do have many good kids here. Maybe Cal could start to set a page or two aside to highlight the good kids, I would love to hear the good stories and the good kids need to be recognized.( with more than just a paragraph or two)

There's no word limit on our blogs that I know of and you can have multiple postings. And there's plenty of recognition of outstanding kids already in our print edition. A photo of an Eagle Scout just ran across my desk, and I don't usually handle that stuff.

See our "Names and Faces" section in the Wednesday papers.

I would like you to interview them like celebrities. The bad kids from Tuesday morning are getting too much attention(and that is what they wanted; that was the whole reason for the stunt they pulled) I want you to give the good kids recognition ten times what those criminals are getting. Interview them and their parents, make the feel important. The good kids ONLY are our future. Lets give them a small reward for being good.(I guess the bad kids are our furture too, but sadly they are my future tax dollar being wasted in federal prison).

"Maybe Cal could start to set a page or two aside to highlight the good kids, I would love to hear the good stories and the good kids need to be recognized.( with more than just a paragraph or two)"

That is the best idea yet in all these posts!

Dang, your posting was so long I just resorted to skimming.

Whatever punk, gardening is crazy fun. You have been living in PTC too long. Alot of people are getting into urban gardening (maybe not around here). It is still a pretty small movement but seems poised to grow.

Nope, I'm not that old buddy, still in my 20's. Maybe you should try organic gardening before you knock it.

sounds exciting.

Listen I understand you. I just graduated from McIntosh, so what goes on there is still fresh on my mind.
I too like you have never drunk, done drugs, had sex or participated in any other illegal activity. And I applaud you for your choices, but you are among a VERY SMALL MINORITY of kids.
Like I've said before the kids here aren't all that they seem.
You can't base how good people are on what grades they get or how well they play games. Here's the thing I garuntee that a good majority of the top precent of my class either got drunk or did drugs at one point.
I mean I had a kid sitting in class talking about how smashed they get that they wake up somewhere completely different. And this was a top athlete.
I don't know, I just seemed to get a vibe from you that you might be younger, not in highschool. And if that's so, you are about to enter a whole new world. And if you are in Highschool, you are just niaeve.

I'm sorry for concerned teen ptc taking all this comments personally and feeling they were directed at him (assuming he is a boy, since he talked about BSoA). I commend him on his good choices and hope he will continue to make the right choices. It also certainly sounds like his parents are involved in his life and guide him along to becoming a responsible adult. Thanks for your comments, concerned teen ptc!

I have to agree with supergrover though, I feel the same way. The good kids are in the minority and yes, it is getting worse. It's is because we are becoming increasingly numb to the bad things in this world, that a kid who does/did drugs, drings underage and occasionally gets in trouble with the law is now considered a "good kid"!

An no, this is not something happening only in PTC, or Fayette County, it is happening all through this country and even to some degree throughout the world. It comes down to strong family values, or the lack thereof.

Yes, I was a teenager only a short while ago and yes I did some pretty stupid things, but my parents held me responsible and made sure I made every wrong right.

Having small children of my own now, I know they will do stupid things, but I promise you, I will follow the tradition of my parents and hold them responsible, even when it's uncomfortable and painful.

I believe that's what is lacking all throughout our society: Holding people responsible for their own personal actions and making sure they make up anything they did wrong.

This is a great city in a great county, located in a great country. We owe it to our children and the generations to come to hold them responsible for their actions, as well as ourselves for ours, and to give our kids some expectations to live up to (and not just good grades and excellence in sports).

The good kids are in the minority and yes, it is getting worse.

Quite a broad brush you are painting with there, fancypants.

In the minority? I sincerely doubt it.

By any measurable and quantifiable statistic, Peachtree City teens are some of the best, if not THE best around. Take a look at school scores, achievements, sports accolades, college admissions rates. Peachtree City teens blow their competition out of the water.

Are there bad apples? Of course. Take a look at the police blotters printed in the paper... you'll see a teen arrested here and there. But the numbers of teens arrested are miniscule compared to the number of 20-somethings, 30-somethings and 40-somethings.

We tend to focus on the bad things, when stuff goes wrong. That's human nature. We had the first murder in ten years in our town this week. Any loss of human life is lamentable, yet I think a great number of cities would love to have a murder rate that low. Our crimes against property rate is very low as well, which is astounding when you consider the relative wealth of this community.

You say that the number of good kids is getting worse. By what criteria of yours? Anectdotal stuff you read in the Citizen? "Gut feelings"? Got some crime data you're privy too? I'd really like to know just how you came to that particularly overbroad generalization.

Skimming over a blog entry and not actually READING it.

I made a general statement about teenagers in this *country* (not county or city). You can look at any statistic and you will see that teen pregnancy, drug abuse, crime rate etc are all on the rise.

Yes, I do agree that the teenagers in PTC and Fayette County are certainly better than the national average, but we need to be vigilant to keep it that way and help them become responsible citizens.

That is only accomplished by admitting the problems and becoming part of the solution, plain and simple.

You want to look at statistics?
Challenge made...challenge accepted.

Let's look at teen pregnancy, since you brought it up.

Adolescent Pregnancy and Childbearing in the United States

It appears that your specious, unsourced claim that "teen pregancy is on the rise" is absolutely without merit.

Highlights of the above link:

1. Among all teens ages 15 to 19, the U.S. birth rate declined by 30 percent between 1991 and 2002, from 62 per 1,000 women in 1991 to a record low of 43 in 2002. (most recent data available...2004 results will not be published until 2007)
2. Among youth under age 15, the U.S. birth rate declined by 50 percent

, from 1.4 per 1,000 women in 1991 to 0.7 in 2002

3. Among teens ages 15 to 17, the U.S. birth rate declined 40 percent from 39 per 1,000 in 1991 to 23 in 2002
4. Among teens ages 18 to 19, the U.S. birth rate declined 23 percent from 94 per 1,000 in 1991 to 73 in 2002

All of the above figures are backed by government statistics in the link cited above.

Now then, let's see what kind of "moral values" YOUR parents instilled in you.

I've just shown that you made an error of fact. Assuming that you are unable to find verifiable facts to bolster your own argument, what will you do now?

Will you own up to your error and apologize?

Will you ignore this post and hope people won't read it?

Will you deny the veracity of the facts I have presented above?

Truthfully, I don't know what you'll do....I haven't gotten a sense of how often you misstate your personal opinion as "facts" in your postings, whether this was a singular occurence or part of a broader pattern of delusion.

Should you opt not to respond to this post, however, I will assume that you are no better than those kids who ran away from the murder scene the other night.

Kids are having sex still. The trend now is anal sex so they can't and don't have to worry about pregnancy

I don't deny kids are having sex. They always have, and always will. Exactly how many kids are having sex and if that has increased of late is another topic of discussion.

I was focusing on fancypant's factual errors regarding teen pregnancy rates in my above post.

When my daughter was going to SMH it was oral sex, on the bus no less.

I can’t tell you how happy that my neighbors and I were when our daughters, five in total, asked if we could drive them to school. Three of my neighbors and I readily agreed to.

P.S. By the way, two were cheerleaders, two were part time models and all of them were smart enough to tell us.

I'm not sure that I want to wade into this one, but I wonder if the stats that you cite are capable of providing the entire picture.

Where does the ready availability of contraceptives (combined with a hands-on seminar in the form of middle and high school sex ed) factor in? The youth in question could be engaged in Rockdale-County-Like orgies on a daily basis and we could still have these stats if they've simply become more savvy.

Would this satisfy what is the real concern? I mean, are we only concerned if a young girl becomes pregnant? Or is it the promiscuity that could yield that result?

Further, does abortion play any role? I have no idea what the trends are here.

I have suffered some property damage and theft by teens and so have my neighbors. Only one incident was in the police blotter. I don't know if they intentionally leave out some arrests to help this look like a safe place? If this does not look like a safe community then of course home sales and prices will go down if the truth is out. They did make an arrest in all but one case. What gives? Where can we find a record of arrests online? I have talked to Deputies in other counties who say that half of what is going on here is not being reported. At least not in the paper.

I have great respect for our police force I think they do a tremdous job with their limited resources; but the question still remains: How safe are we......really????

More than likely the age of the suspect is the main problem here. 16 and younger, they go to juvenile court where everything is a secret, unless you kill, rape, assault, etc. somebody else.

Same with traffic tickets. If anything, the traffic citations should be public for sure along with the violent stuff.

There is lots of garbage going on in Gables Court (off of stephens entry)

Mostly theft / vandalism / graffiti ...

I have called the police twice this month already. I bet it didn't show up in the paper.

There are a tremendous amount of good kids at that school. My Son just finished the 8th grade, and I met lots of good kids. Are they perfect? No way, but they are as good of a group as you will find in most places.

Booth really isn't the problem. It's more Highschool. I mean I know that there is some stuff that goes on at that age, but not to the magnitude of what happens at the high school.
The kids in Highschool have more access to things. They can drive and most people give them more freedom because of their age. I mean once they are 18 they can buy stuff like Red Dawn or Hypnotic at the adult stores like Starship. And for those who don't know Red Dawn and other crap like that is kinda like ecstacy, but legal. Most kids are turning to these "legal" substances to get their highs instead of drugs.
Im glad that you are involved in your sons life. Keep it up, especially when he gets to high school.Stay in your kids life and he won't end up the topic of a descussion like this.
God Bless

Excellent commentary, concerned teen ptc!

I do agree that most of the posts in this thread have shown an appalling lack of civility and sensitivity today as they scramble to out-shout each other in their efforts to lecture teens on the "way things ought to be".

The "old hen" contingent here was in its grotesque full-throated glory today.

That sort of smugness is the exception, not the rule.

I'm just amazed at all of you. You actually take the time to look up the kids myspace pages. That is just lame. Obviously some of you have too much free time on your hands. Use it wisely on your kids so maybe this won't happen again. The fact that some of you say such things about these kids is just horrible. To some of you that don't know what your kids are doing, just ride around on the golf cart and smell the air. All there is for kids to do in Peachtree City is ride around on their golf carts with their parents money and buy drugs.

Holy Crap! I thought I had heard it all until I read this. A group of misquided teenagers make a terrible decision that ultimately costs someone their life, and we find a way to work in "blame the FCC and the Democrats". You're right man! Let's not have any of that personal responsiblity junk on this blog. This is squarely the Democrats fault. We should hold a hearing in DC.

And as for the two servicemembers in Iraq (and I am a servicemember), the story was on EVERY news network. Maybe you only watch FOX, but most of us like to watch a mixture of channels before we blindly follow one news organization.

Keep at it yaught! Go to the polls on Nov 7th and reelect the guy that knows 3 of the 10 Commandments (kind of knows them anyway). Guys like you and he will get this place cleaned up in no time! Oh yeah, if the gist of your blog is to complain about others pointing fingers, maybe you shouldn't point fingers. Kind of like if your gonna sponsor a bill referencing the 10 Commandments, you kind-a, ought-a know what the 10 Commandments are.

But what do I know.

Ok yaught, you obviously don't know what goes on very well. The age factor must have you in the dark. Blame the FCC? That is one of the dumbest things I've heard in a while. The FCC isn't the problem, it's the parents that do a bad job of raising their kids. For the record, drugs are a very big problem among teens in Peachtree City. All they have to do is buy from the local dealers in Harmony Village or go over to Clayton County. I know numerous parents that have drug problems in their family (teens). A very large number of them do in fact ride around on their golf carts using drugs (smoking marijuana, eating mushrooms, buying crack cocaine) those types of things. Just ride around on your golf cart for a while and you while notice these things. The drugs are what bring a lot of the problems. The low income people selling drugs to help make a little more income (Harmony Village, Wynnmeade).

I like that.. I am glad you've got my back on that one. Maybe we should have some sort of breeding eligibility test.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for welfare. We need to passify the masses so they don't riot. On the otherhand, I think welfare should come with mandatory sterilization. If you want to party all the time, great, go for it.

Once you are ready to become a productive citizen we'll take the norplant out of your arms.

Thanks Veryveryconcerned. You are very very right. We gotta get in the middle of our kids lives and be the parents we need to be. I know how I was as a teenager. By the grace of God I am still alive. What has changed that makes us think that our kids are above all this. My God people....stop hanging at the Fred and start hanging with your kids. I get made fun of at work because I chose to give up golf so I could spend my free time with my kids. It has paid off...but I worry that this is not enough. You know...when I come home I have a couple of people that actually like me because I put them first. And sometimes my wife even likes me. Looking at Myspace tells me that young people are screaming for attention and direction. And it's not being bought off with comfort and material possessions that they seek. Thanks again.

Please define "crunk" for me. Guess I'm getting to be an old guy.

Sorry Baswipe...I mentioned a higher being again.

I believe Crunk means: a combination of getting crazy/drunk. The only reason I know this, is that occasionally I listen to some rap/R&B type music. That term has been around for a long time. You must be getting old. Don't feel so bad though.

Thanks Xcheer. Been there done that and didn't know what it was called. Only thing is I wish I never went there. Neat thing about getting a little older and wiser is that I've learned that I don't need to drink to to act crazy. Crazy thing is that I've never seen any good come out of getting trashed. But I have sure seen alot of death and ruined lives. You hit one thing on the head....old I guess I'm gettin.

sounds like you are very, very crunk!

Btw, here is a "Shampoo" pic:
http://tinyurl.com/h8yda

netbrad - You can not be for real. Must be lonely and cold at the top of that Throne.

Not lonely, and no throne. More like a large fort with other responsible people, keeping societal barbarians away. My point is, there seems to be a denial mechanism at work here instead of a public outcry. Once you allow the behavior of those in your community to degrade so that an event like this happens its all downhill. The lack of parental responsibility in this city is appalling.

This is a terrible tragedy, but one caused by an obvious lack of common sense!

Let's recap:

- Party at a house with no "real" adults.
- Middle of the night (3:20am).
- Alcohol and underage drinking.
- A gun in the hands of a minor.
- Kids who might be called "good" by everybody who knows them, but who really want to be bad/badass/A "Hustla" (see Kevin's blog)!

This is not as much of an accident, as a tragedy that was long in the making. I'm sure this "party" started early evening and lasted for several hours, plenty of time for anybody with any common sense to smell the roses (or booze in this case) and take a hike! One could probably even argue that it started even earlier than this, with a minor getting a hold of a gun, drugs and alcohol and not being told in a harsh yet loving way to stay away from those things way before that.

If my still young children ever run into any of these things when they are older, I hope they turn right around and LEAVE!

As many others have said on here before, we feel the parents' and the friends' grief over this tragic event, but please don't claim that all those involved were "innocent" at all.

We are not "judging" these kids or claim we know everything that went on, but some of the things that lead up to this are just so very obvious. I'm sure that in plain daylight Kevin, Dallas and Chris helped old ladies across the street with a big smile on their face, but in the middle of the night, after a couple of shots and a few sniffs/drags of whatever drug... well, you know what happened.

We all have been through this or similar circumstances: young, bold, "smart" and all knowing, fearless and sure to live forever, certain that "the old folks" just don't get it. I just hope that all parties involved learn from this and CHANGE their way of thining! Life is too precious to be wasted in such a worthless manner.

You have to make the right choice ** EVERY TIME ** or somebody will get hurt. Unfortunately Kevin, Chris, Dallas and all their friends made the wrong choice/s that night.

cleaned brain, bone and blood particles splattered all over the house because someone blew their head up with a 20 guage because of the effects of drugs, alcohol, and gambling I do know what the families are going through. First of all shut up and stop yelling at us. You just got a lesson in life that might save your ass someday. There are certain behaviours that can jeapordize your life and cause yourself and your loved ones to have to deal with awful consequences like these that result from the kinds of lifestyles and behaviours these punks exhibited.

As far as I'm concerned they can do what they want as long as it does not affect me or my family. The problem is that it usually does. You go on and deny your destructive lifestyles and continue to tell us what wonderful and innocent chilren they were. We're not buying it. These were brats who have no respect for others and have to justify themselves through drugs, sex, and trying to prove to everyone what a badass they are. You know what kid...we can talk about this Criminal Activity and we have every right to. We've been there. And we see you roll your eyes at us when we try to keep you from going through this s*%t. Now blame your buddiesand not us. Now get you own act together.

The next time one of your loved ones decides to eat a gun Git Real, I'd recommend calling Bio-Tec (1-888-246-9111) for cleanup instead. It's a lot less traumatizing. They offer competitive rates (I use 'em on my rental properties) and are very prompt and courteous. Tell 'em Basmati sent you.

Now, with that out of the way, would it be too much to ask of you to go do your incessant sermonizing in another thread? Must you always be the center of attention? You come in here, a little more than 24 hours after a murder and hector those that are grieving about this senseless loss and call folks "punks" and "brats".

You, sir, are the Peachtree City equivalent of that "GodHatesFags" guy who pickets deceased soldiers funerals. Anything for a soapbox.

Well you won't be nominated for Mr. Sensitivity either then, mocking the cleaning up of a dearly departed. I thought you were the center of attention hound here.

How very sad that your life should hold a memory as tragic as this; you didn't make me laugh this time, quite the opposite. Sad and sorry state of affairs that we are living with. Wish there were a magic answer for all the sorrow and hurt that we read and listen to every day. Thoughts and prayers to all that this has affected, directly and indirectly.

Thanks. What I debated with myself on before actually posting was whether to predict Cat Eaters response or not. I saw him lurking in the background and told myself....Self...should I invite Bassomatic to now have at me as I close? He was certainly very predictable on this one. But we just consider the source and understand that some folk just ain't right.

Hey Bassomatic....how about a fresh picture. If you go to Drudge there is a pic of Cindy Sheehan protesting in some foreign land calling Bush the worlds #1 terrorist.

I can see that there are a couple of brand-new bloggers here who are sad, mad, scared and hurting - do you not see and hear this? You might call it whining, call it what you will, and some of their points are invalaid and complaining teenagers. However, I believe some of these young folks have gotten a real wake-up call with this one. Young folks, you've got one old gal who is thinking about you, praying for you, and I can feel that pain and fear that is coming out as anger. Stay strong, learn the lessons life has so bitterly dealt to you.

Grendlemon

Very nicely stated. I believe we all are feeling the pain, some of us can reflect back on an event in our life that was traumatic and tragic. Or maybe we were the luckily ones that did not feel the peer pressure or left early.

Every generation has experienced drugs, alcohol, sex and kids stating that their parents don't understand the pressure of the new generation.

You can be the most caring, loving and protective parents around but the peer pressure sometimes overrule good judgment and decision making. Early in life and was one of the luckily ones that only had to attend the funeral, then deal with the pain and sorrow of loosing a best friend.

Wish I had the answers or could change the outcome - Grendlemon statement "learn the lesson that life bitterly dealt" is a good start.

My thoughts and prayers to the friends and family

That's quite a WHINE.

"overprotective parents?" Is that some kind of joke? There's far too many "under-protective parents" in PTC and that's how tragedies like this occur. "No idea what teens are dealing with?" Hey, I was a teenager myself once and survived it without a ton of whining somehow and moping about having nothing to do or whatever. Believe it or not, there were TONS of drugs back in my day in Fayette County as well as underage drinking....it's not some new phenomena that just started happening to all the poor teens in PTC. It's the choices you make that decide whether you make it to adulthood or get arrested numerous times by the cops or worse.

NUK

overprotective parents wasn't the content of my comment. im not whining or moping but two pooeple very close to me just had thier lives ended.. i suggest you stop trying to actlike you know what happened. does this affect anything in your life like it will mine. its not the drinking and the drugs thats not what anyone is "whining about" did i say nothing to do.. no.. and poor ptc teens?? ive lost three of my close friends this year to jail.. suicide and murder.. i think you should think before you speak. and im not a ptc teen . im not whining ither.. but i am making a cry for dallas' family i don't think they want to read that their sons death was "coming to him' as someone had commented. all he cared about on monday night was the godfather video game and his friends.

As a parent, I morn the loss of any child in a needless accident. In college my fraternity lost a pledge to a stupid hazing incident. He was my pledge brother. His family lost a great human being. The person responsible was convicted of criminally negligent homicide.

If any lesson can be learned that prevents this type of incident happening again, then open and frank discussions are needed.

My youngest son's Boy Scout Troop recently talked about "six seconds of stupid". All the time it takes to make a bad choice. In this incident there were several:

1. A party with minors and no adult supervision.

2. Alcohol and drugs.

3. Bringing a gun to a party with the above.

4. Improper handling of #3.

Just a comment on your closing remark, I do not know this young man, but I think you do him a diservice saying he only cared about a video game and friends. I'm sure he cared about many important things, his future, his family etc.

Sorry for your loss, you should avoid this site if it is going to upset you and add to your grief.

PTC kids have nothing to do?!? OH PLEASE!

I'll give them something to do. I'd make them turn the TV off and start a garden in the backyard. That'll keep them busy all summer.

Hmm, let's see what we know from his own page:

- Drug user
- Alcohol user
- Loves to party

Then we know he was at a party in the early morning hours, with a gun, drugs and alcohol!

Makes him bad in my book. Not bad as in intentionally killing somebody, but still bad and just as bad as all the other kids who were there.

** Bad things happen to bad people in bad places! **

Being at a party on a work day in the whee hours of the morning, where there are drugs, alcohol and guns is just PLAIN stupid! Smart kids would have seen the writing on the wall and gone home!

Yes I feel bad for all parties involved and wish this could be undone, but it really gets me how people will say "oh, he/she is such a good kid/person/father/mother/neighbor" after somebody got themselves into serious trouble like this, due to their OWN stupid actions!

If Kevin, Dallas or Chris would have had a little more common sense, this would not have happened! It is so very unfortunate that all of these kids were not able to learn some valuable lessons about life and their actions in a less harsh way.

I just want to ask you one thing...do you know everything your kids are doing? People are so quick to blame something bad that happens on someone else.

I don't know everything my kids are up to. I actively monitor my kids' internet usage and talk to them when I see something that concerns me.

I called the police when I read My Space blogs kids were writing that listed reasons another boy's mother deserved to DIE. The Mom thought it was just 'sick' humor and was actually upset that I called attention to it because she didn't want her son to get into trouble.

Here are all the comments posted on Kevin Johnston's Myspace page from yesterday.

• Kev...what up homie. Be strong and we love ya. You'll get through this! my prayers are with you! love you!
• Kevin I am thinking about you right now and You have been in my prayers all day. I know you will get through this. You have such a good heart and that's what everyone loves about you. Love You!
• You are in my prayers. I LOVE YOU KEVIN. Love Your ..1
• damn kevin. ima keep you and your family in my thoughts.
• RIP Dallas,and Good luck kevin. i hope everything goes as well as it can for you.
• Yo homie... I just wanted to let you know I am thinkin bout you!! I love you K Dawg!

I don't see a single "want to party on as usual" comment there. There WAS a "I want to party with you" comment...from DECEMBER 2005

Your post was nothing more than a gratuitous cheap shot at his friends, Nancy. Shame on you.

You're right the kids DID seem concerned on his page. What bothered me was what I saw when I went to their friend’s links and read what they were writing.

I didn't mean it as a cheap shot and I didn't mean to offend anyone. I just want parents to know what kids are up to and get to know who their friends REALLY are, since they are freely posting everything on Myspace for the world to see.

Last night I saw 3 pictures with GUNS and an old comment: "It's not how many u kill....but who u kill."

You know, initially I felt bad for this kid having shot his friend. Looking at his myspace page I'm not sure if I still feel bad for him, though.

His nickname is "$Hustla$" and he states about himself "i like ... anything that gets your adrenalin up" and "In the past month have you been on Drugs: ....depends?".

A lot of you are going to say now "oh, he's just a typical teenager", well' I'd like to say "he's the typical teenager who gets himself in this kind of trouble".

I just hope he and his friends, as well as all parents involved learn from this tragedy and never forget it!

Not to mention his answer to 2 questions I saw:

1. number of drugs I have taken ? 4
2. have you ever shoplifted ? yes

Right. I read the comments, too, and all of them that post-date the incident express love, concern and support.

Perhaps she was reacting, though, to the more general features of the site--the music, images, language, etc. God help our teens.

How about parents?!!?! God allows us to make our own decisions, and with them comes consequences. It is the parents who are supposed to teach us how to make good decisions. What we need here is better parenting. Parents stop trying to be "cool" or your kids friend. Or just stop thinking about yourselves for once and think of your kids. This whole thing could have been avoided if Chris's parents had placed a RESPONSIBLE adult in the house while they were gone.
Now don't get me wrong, Im not blaming parents, but they are a big factor, because where else do kids learn how to act?!?!
God Bless and may those who are hurting find peace in him.

That was rather a strange reaction to what was intended mainly as a lament.

Saying "God help our teens" is legitimate both metaphorically and literally. I mainly had the metaphorical in mind. But then, of course, good parenting and divine assistance are not mutually exclusive categories. One might in fact pray that a set of parents will grow in their wisdom.

One might as well respond to your (nice) closing of "God bless" by pointing out that whatever "blessings" one receives has to do with more mundane circumstances.

I really wasn't ragging on you. Your comment just allowed me to portray what I wanted better. I know what you mean. It makes more sense (well to me) to go into an already ongoing conversation by linking in your thoughts with those already present. Hmmm I hope I make sense.
God Bless(hehe)