GAYLESVILLE, Alabama-

“Johnny, Please get up of the ground right now, we have to leave.”

“No!!!” Followed by a wag of the tongue.

“Damn it, Johnny, get your ass up this moment or I’m going to drag you outta here.”

No comment, just another tongue wag.

This is not what really happened in this case, just me speculating on possible proceedings. There is a really good chance you heard about this story when the media wrote about it back in August. But if not, be prepared to be a little shocked.

She probably didn’t think much of it at the time, it was a simple reaction and a quick remedy to an immediate and embarrassing problem. We’ve all been there, feeling the immense frustration that every parent feels on a weekly and sometimes daily basis. But Melissa Catherine Smith-Means of Gaylesville, Alabama must have missed the class on dealing with whatever situation her offspring threw at her on that fateful day. All she accomplished was to further embarrass herself at a national level.

Smith-Means was in a Verizon Wireless store when something set her off in regards to her child, and she was caught on video pulling the youngin around the store by a leash, as he lay sprawled out on the floor. The incident brought her very negative national attention and even an arrest for child cruelty charges. Something I’m sure she was not expecting when the whole spontaneous incident happened.

I know how she must have felt. Believe me, I’ve been there myself and I’m sure every parent can sympathize with the frustration, but pulling a kid around by a leash while he lays on the floor? That really crosses the line. Who knows, maybe it was an activity they harmlessly participated in at home (but I seriously doubt it). Personally, I don’t know Melissa Catherine Smith-Means, nor have I heard her interviewed to get her side of the story. She may be a horrible mother or a great mother who just let herself suffer from a momentary lack of judgment. I will not pass judgment on her, except to say what she did was a very bad move.

The Moral of the story: In the era of high tech cell phones and video recorders everywhere, it’s a good idea to really watch what you do, otherwise the very common and ordinary person can find themselves all over the media for all the wrong reasons.

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