I’m a skier -- both downhill and cross country. It is one of
the things I do in winter to keep active and enjoy the outdoors. I ski downhill
at local Michigan ski resorts, maybe four times a winter, and mostly out my
back door for cross-country skiing.
My favorite downhill venue is Treetops Ski Resort as it is
the closest to my home and they have a policy of allowing 70 year-olds to ski
free. So far, I haven’t broken any bones, the exercise seems valuable, and
since I own the skis and boots, the price is right.
On Monday, Martin Luther King Day, I went downhill skiing
with my brother and two nieces. They were excited about skiing when we arrived
at Treetops, but I wondered about the lack of vehicles in the parking lot. I
asked the ski lift-lady about the few skiers on the hills and she said she was
surprised, that she expected more folks since it was a holiday and since the
resort rooms were nearly sold out. It was good news for the resort since they
have had falling revenues from our still-shaky economy in northern Michigan. We
had a good time skiing and I thought no more about it until the following day
when I saw the television report.
The newscaster on TV said that Treetops had suffered serious
losses due to vandalism. As the story unfolded, it seems that a fraternity from
the University of Michigan had rented 50 rooms from Treetops for a skiing
holiday. Apparently, Saturday night the collegians had a few beers too many and
the celebrants went on a rampage of destruction. Treetops was the loser. The
rooms that had been rented were seriously vandalized and the college students
were ejected from the resort. The report noted that furniture was overturned,
holes were punched in walls, cabinet doors were torn from their hinges and body
fluids were used to redecorate many surfaces -- A $50,000 loss according to
Treetops estimates.
I asked myself how could this happen? The only answer I
could fathom is that the destruction was caused by drunken children who
happened to inhabit adult bodies capable to commit the vandalism that was found.
What’da ya think?
As I thought about my youth and time in college, it was
impossible to imagine that I, or any of my peers, would be guilty of a similar
outrage. We just wouldn’t have committed such senseless acts, not even in times
of over-the-top celebrations or in the depth of despair over, say, a lost love.
It just wouldn’t have happened because we were too preoccupied with our
futures, our financial responsibilities and respect for law and order. What da
ya think?
It seemed to me that the Treetops thing was not a
one-of-a-kind happening. Other news reports have indicated extraordinary
happenings, criminal, senseless, or juvenile, that occur by younger folks. The
examples can be mind numbing. The frequency of such reports indict our current
generation of folks under 30. What’da ya think?
I don’t know of any sociology studies, but it seems to me
that youngsters today are less mature than we were at comparable ages. They are
marrying later, having children later, making life commitments later, and
failing to accept adult responsibilities until later in life. My generation
began to think about work, families, and taking care of ourselves after high
school, not after college or even later. I read recently that Italian men,
perhaps I should say boys, are commonly living at home and accepting care from
their parents until their 30’s. In contrast, the generations before mine seemed
to mature even earlier than we did. For example, the Great Depression saw boys
leaving home in their early teens to avoid being a burden on their parents. It
must have been hard leaving home during the worst of times, but they accepted
it as an adult responsibility. What’da ya think?
I haven’t written this to denigrate the current generation
of youth. They are probably more knowledgeable than we were, probably
healthier, and they have better prospects for living longer, fulfilling lives than
us if our planet hasn’t been trashed into oblivion by human disregard. What’da
ya think? I’d like to hear from you.
Bill
