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	Vol.7, No 1, August 30, 1999
	Strap up your children During the summer I worked as a bartender at the Malibu Speed Zone in the City of Industry. I met guys who used to be professional and semi-professional racers, gang members and the normal lot of families and twenty-somethings.   Though designed for people 18-35 years old, this park does get its share of families with small children.    One Saturday afternoon, a frantic man came up to the bar. He had lost his 3-year-old son and wife. I instantly felt for him. Losing oneís child would be one of the most terrifying experiences in a parentís life. I tried to calm him down and offered to contact my manager.    The gentleman asked if we could page his son. After relaying the message to the manager on duty, the announcement sounded throughout the complex. When the man heard the page, he realized his son would not understand it and asked me to page his wife instead.    The manager refused to do it, saying the system is not to be used for that purpose and he had done the guy a favor by doing it the first time.   I felt bad because I could not help the man more. He was beginning to get angry with me. I realize his emotions were running in overdrive, but it finally occurred to me that it was his own fault.   This man had admitted to me that it was in fact his fault. ìI just got so wrapped up over there and when I turned around they were gone,î he said.   I figured the child could not have been in too much trouble since the mother and child were together before they disappeared. More than likely, they were still together and just got bored waiting for Dad to finish his video game.    After we told this loving father that we could not page his wife, he stormed off to find his lost family. But even before he was gone, my sympathy had subsided and had given way to anger.   I was angry that this man had brought his 3-year-old to an amusement park not geared toward children. I was angry that this father was not responsible enough to watch his young son in a place not meant for children of that age. I was angry because this moron allowed his child and wife to disappear and then wanted me to bend over backward to help him solve his problem. People should watch their own children and not expect someone else to.   If you are going to take a small child to an arcade or an amusement park, you should put that childís safety and enjoyment ahead of your own.    I realize sometimes things happen and they can be very frightening. But that doesnít give a person the right to pawn his duties onto someone else.   I decided a few months ago that I do not want any children of my own.    Itís not that I donít like children. I just don't want the responsibility of raising them. I have a hard enough time taking care of myself, let alone anyone else.   For someone to have children and then expect other people to help raise and care for those children is unfair and irresponsible. It is ironic that people must have a license to own a gun or a dog, but not to have children. At times, it may seem that people need a leash on all three.   Ken Hanson is the opinion editor of the Daily Forty-Niner.		Student fees refunded CSULB enrollment exceeds 28,000 Professor faces legal messes Sexual battery case to be heard Campus crimes down; hate crimes increase Students ticketed mostly for using invalid permits School starts later Upperclassmen GPAs increase; lower division grades decline 50th anniversary takes off at CSULB Dorms beyond capacity Professors bunk in dormatories for room, board Roofs soon fixed; classes disturbed While you were gone ... The summer's top stories Faith not reliant on one's religion Strap up your children  Editor's expectations exceeded President welcomes students Live Bait lures in university crowd A second street on Second Street 'The 13th Warrior' no 'Braveheart' for Banderas Thriller thrills Cochran ready for second year Enlightening One proposes a plan UCLA football seeks redemption Expectations high for volleyball team Soccer team shut out 7-0 Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.