Spackling 101

When does the fun begin? I ask myself on a number of occasions. If a person achieves their greatest dream, that is, to play D1 baseball, why are there so many woes?

I always felt that part of the actualization of a dream was the joy of working toward the goal. As one has the idea and moves incrementally toward a dream, the time to enjoy the dream is the journey. But for some reason, it is not always good enough.

I know that I am being vague, so I will begin as I always do with the phone call to me at home...."Mom, I don't feel like myself. I don't think that I belong..." And there is went...how many times can a mother say: "Whaddya tawkin' 'bout? You have it all....athleticism, looks, killer grin, great hair....D1 school....cool clothes...a laptop with wireless internet....and you have problems?" As I looked out at the backyard with the phone in my hand, I had to think that there was more to his statement.

"Yeah...I dunno...I'm in a rut..." Hmmmm.... we are back to school for 5 days and the work has not yet begun and he is in a rut. Again, there is more to this story.

After several Hawaii 5-0 type questions, I was left with fewer answers than when I began the inquisition. Perhaps it is fatigue.....worry about school....a girl who doesn't like him....LW....his pitch speed....He has enough money after the grandparents and uncles and aunts came through over the holidays....He carries my credit card.....what is it?

Moving on to 4 am this morning when the phone rang. Whenever I hear the phone during the night, I immediately think that someone has died or someone has beaten my son and he is in the hospital. The fears never leave....No one died this morning (whew)...it was an irate son who was agitated with his room mates.

Here is the story....the guys went to a party and came back to the apartment with Big Red's girl friend and her friends. They were all drunk except Buddy, who does not drink anymore. When it came time to go to bed, the party was continuing....one girl passed out on the sofa bed....Angel was with another girl (oy) in their room....another girl was visibly inebriated and would not leave the sleeping bear sleep. The party got louder and louder, the girls and guys drank more AND boom! Someone's fist went through a wall....guess what my credit card has to pay for now?

Yep...he was so angry with the craziness, that he threw a tantrum....broke through a wall with his pitching hand...left the apartment in a huff...and called home at 4 am.

After dad talked him through the issues, he told Buddy to leave the apartment and to check into the hotel in the middle of town. When he arrived at the hotel, he called again and we spoke for a while. It was around 5 am, so any more sleep was non existent. After our conversation, I asked him to call later in the day and we could work on a strategy for conflict resolution in the apartment.

I would say that this is crazy...but it is college life. Dad shared with him that he slept in his car on a number of occasions when things were nutty in his apartment. Yet...some how, some way, the leftie is going to have to figure it out without making a scene. But first, the lesson to learn here is that you cannot negotiate with a drunk person, therefore, he did the right thing by leaving.

The second lesson is that he should have a better lock on the door and lock it when he does not want drunken girls in his room while he is trying to sleep. The last piece of advice that I had given to him before he left home was "never be alone with a drunk girl....ever...ever...I mean ever...." I guess that he kept these words in the back of his head or maybe he was peeved that he was awake in the middle of the night when he was exhausted.

The third lesson is that there should be household rules regarding "guests" especially between Angel and Buddy. Since they share a room, Buddy had no where to go especially since there was a drunken girl on the sofa. The girl who wanted Buddy's bed eventually got it since she was not going to sleep with LW. Buddy packed up his laptop, grabbed his coat and phone and called dad.

Leave it to dad to figure out a problem out 180 miles away from home. He called the hotel and made a reservation and the kid checked in....Is that the end of this story?

Nope....after finally getting a good night sleep, he was refreshed and checked out of the hotel. He is on his way for waffles with next year's room mates. He already had one "conversation" with Angel who apologized profusely and swore that it would never happen again. Next victims will be Big Red and his girl friend. Since it was BR's girl friend's posse who caused the trouble, then both of them should be part of the discussion. Lastly, LW was the guy who had the music turned way up at 3 am and was thrilled with the house guests. LW will also be part of the conversation, but it is doubtful that his behaviors will change.

What does BP mom say about all of this? Well...it is college...crazy parties can last all night....guys and girls will make drunken fools of themselves....people are going to party...vomit...and pass out...however, there is a percentage of college kids who are there to achieve their goals and begin to live their dreams. This leaves the all night party out of the equation.

Buddy is a lucky guy who has a dad who will immediately jump into action to assist him. Without a second thought, dad sent him to a hotel....not the two star hotel on the edge of town but the 4 star hotel in the middle with free WiFI. And so, the journey to the major leagues continues...more bumps...a few bruises...and a busted wall....