Column: Thanks for Listening

Our bullying series that has been running for the last few weeks has opened my eyes to quite a few things that I, as an adult, had not really thought of when it comes to bullying.

Directly speaking with the children and teens who have bullied and are bullied really makes you stop and think of all that we adults are missing when it comes to our children. How many of the parents of seventh-graders at Southwest Middle School realize that sevvy slaps are going on?

Do you know what sevvy slaps are?

Sevvy slaps are when seventh-graders get the books they are carrying knocked out of their hands in the hallways in between classes.

How many parents realize that your own kids do not come to you because they are afraid you will blow the bullying situation out of hand, yet at the same time your child also will not turn to even their best friend for fear of having the best friend turn on them. Bullying is leading your children to feel alone and unguarded with nowhere to turn.

Nonverbal bullying is huge as kids get looked at up and down with not even a word said. We have kids who are not even being welcomed by anyone into a new school just because they are new. An unwelcomed or ignored child is still a child that is being bullied.

Ignoring and nonverbal bullying is one of the most mentioned bullying techniques that I would not have thought of when I first think of bullying. We have a long way to go, but I ask that everyone keeps the lines of communications open when it comes to this problem. Parents, teachers and young adults need to be aware of the frightening consequences bullying has and push to stop bullying where it starts.

Click here for the most recent article in the bullied series.

“You never think that you won’t pass first” is what my mom said to me when I was trying to console her when my sister Kathy died in 1994. A parent’s worst nightmare is having to bury a child. It is tragic and sad.

This week a young 23-year-old girl Jerri Mondeel was taken from us because of a car wreck. Please keep Jerri’s parents and family in your thoughts and prayers this week as they struggle with one of life’s terrible tragedies.

The following Garth Brooks song helped me a bit when my sister died, and I hope, in some way, that it will help start the healing for the Mondeels. It is called “The Dance.”

Looking back on the memory of

The dance we shared beneath the stars above

For a moment all the world was right

How could I have known you’d ever say goodbye

And now I’m glad I didn’t know

The way it all would end the way it all would go

Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain

But I’d of had to miss the dance

Holding you I held everything

For a moment wasn’t I the king

But if I’d only known how the king would fall

Hey who’s to say you know I might have changed it all

And now I’m glad I didn’t know

The way it all would end the way it all would go

Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain

But I’d of had to miss the dance

Yes my life is better left to chance

I could have missed the pain but I’d of had to miss the dance

Tribune Publisher Scott Schmeltzer’s column appears every Thursday.