NOUN
- a teaching moment in life that instructs someone what it means to become an adult; it is not limited to teaching a young person and the lesson often holds an unclear objective, which may be similar to adult life itself.
Synonym: Adolescence
I talked with a coworker one day last week and he mentioned his son was turning 21 that weekend. As we talked about what made a kid a good kid or a bad kid, he went on to say that his son received a “Minor in Consumption” ticket almost a year ago. The Offense Code is Y5105 under the Minnesota Statue 340A.503 PERSONS UNDER 21; ILLEGAL ACTS and is when a minor age 18-21 years old consumes alcohol. There is a different code for someone under 18.
His son, who I will call the good son, was walking home with
another friend, and was stopped by police. Earlier that evening, someone had reported a break-in
of a vehicle nearby, so the police stopped and questioned the kids. The police asked
if they could search the kids' backpacks and they agreed. After searching the backpacks,
the police found nothing suspicious. However, they did smell alcohol and asked
if they had anything to drink. The good son admitted to having a beer at the
party and was issued a ticket for having consumed alcohol and being a “person
under the age of 21 years.” The other kid was 21 and did not receive a ticket.
The good son was now spending the summer at the family cabin, alone,
and was following the letter of the law. To celebrate his "coming of age," the good son looked forward to
having a beer on the boat with his dad while they fished.
Later that week, I talked with a different acquaintance who talked
about having a “writer’s mind,” as we both like writing. He told me that once when his son was falling down
drunk in the street in their neighborhood, his first impulse was to rush
to get his notebook so he could write everything down. His wife, on the other
hand, was distraught, not only over the son’s behavior, but also by the
father’s cavalier attitude over the incident. Since the incident was many years
ago, I asked how his son had turned out and he said that he now had a successful
business and was doing great.
It seems hard to know what to tell kids these days. Tell the truth, don't tell the truth, don't break the law, but if you do break the law, don't admit it to the police. Confusing. There
are advice columns everywhere and no right answer seems to fit everyone or every situation. But, it doesn't mean that there is no right answer. I actually believe that there often is a right
answer. The problem is that no one else can tell you what that answer might be.
