Do you have a problem younger driver in your household? Do you cringe every time you had him/her the car keys? Do you worry about your teen’s safety and the safety of others while your teen is behind the wheel?

A new LOCAL Web Site wants to help you keep an eye on your kids even when you’re not in the car with them.

Myyoungdriver.com “because you can’t always be in the passenger seat” wants you to apply online for a sticker to place on your young driver’s car. Other motorists who then witness your child talking on the cell phone, text messaging, hanging out the window, playing mailbox baseball or robbing a liquor store can then go online, fill out some information and report your child’s good or bad driving behavior.

MyYoungDriver.com was created to encourage safe and responsible driving.  There are more distractions than ever before for a young driver on the road today.  While we teach our young drivers good driving habits, we can’t always be there to watch.  Cell-phones, text messaging, ipods, blackberries, portable DVD players and other hand-held devices all contribute to non-attentive driving.  By purchasing and placing a MyYoungDriver.com decal on your car, you can rest assured that there will be thousands of eyes on your young driver, and an outlet for other drivers to let you know should they observe negative or positive driving behavior.Our goal at MyYoungDriver.com is simple: “We wish to encourage the inexperienced driver to drive safely and responsibly; our hope is to get every driver to their destination safely.”  By applying for an ID to your registered vehicle, the driver might be inclined to not engage in reckless behavior that could lead to losing their license or being involved in an accident that could result in injury or death.

How would your kid’s feel when you plaster this sticker all over their brand new Dodge Viper? Is it a good idea? Maybe. Anything would help in terms of protecting our children. But, I echo the sentiments of callers to this morning’s radio program. The parent still ultimately has to have good enough judgment to sift through the phony claims.

Will it help or is it just wishful thinking. Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think. www.Myyoungdriver.com 

    

The News Journal ran the obligatory annual story about how much money teachers “have to” spend out of pocket each year.  It started in an odd way:

 

No one told teacher Barbara Finnan she had to buy $50 worth of chewing gum for her pupils at Baltz Elementary School. She even has a policy of no gum chewing in class, and the school also does not permit it.But she read somewhere that chewing gum helps children think. And so, for a week’s worth of testing, she bent the rules a little and bought the gum with money out of her own pocket. To her delight, the scores did go up a little, although she’ll probably never know if the gum did it.Gum is an unusual example of a “school supply,” but it illustrates how some teachers will spare no expense — especially at their own expense — on trying to help their students.

And now my obligatory smarmy comments: 

I “read somewhere” that methamphetamine helps children study.  I hope Ms. Finnan doesn’t read the same thing next year!  Gum is not a “school supply”, it’s a fanciful experiment that a teacher wanted to conduct; hardly a good example of teachers who really do need to supplement the classroom with books and supplies.  

I also wonder what other school rules she helps her students violate?

Do you have a family pet?  If not – you can leave now.
 
If you answered yes – does your pet think he or she is human? The family comedian?   It’s interesting to really watch the personality of your animal emerge - be it a cat, dog or whatever.  I know not one of my animals has been like any other I’ve had.  Like humans, each has had its own distinct personality.
 
I’ve had cats, dogs, turtles, fish, gerbils, a hamster and snails.   Since I moved to Delmarva, most of my creatures have been cats – and 2 dogs.  Puddkitty is the current critter and while she isn’t as animated as some that I’ve had, she does keep herself and me entertained.  She also makes sure that any creepy crawly critter that manages to get into the house doesn’t stay for long.  Now if only she would decide that cricket legs taste like chicken!  She leaves those behind – I guess it’s just her gift to me, but it’s better than leaving ‘other’ things!  Pudd likes height – the top of anything is a great perch – doors, furniture, the mantle.  Even with only hind claws, she’s still a great climber.
 
Most of the cats I’ve had through the years have been social – they like the company of the humans in the house rather than going off on their own to sleep in a sunbeam.   Sam was a fighter – he protected the property from any other cat in the neighborhood.  He was my only outside cat, but met his match when he went after a large four-legged – car. 
 
Samantha was my mouse cat.  She could find any mouse that had the unfortunate luck to come into the house.  Of course she didn’t hunt it – she played with it to death.  And then just left it for Mommy to dispose of.  She liked everyone and had the knack of finding the one person in a group who didn’t really like cats and did her best to change their mind.
 
Pywich was the anti-social one of the bunch, but also came to me after her Mommy left her with me.  Actually Py was the queen of the house – and oversaw all in her realm.
 
Mickey was the lover of the bunch.  He knew he was cute and worked it to the max and then just sat on you and purred, but sometimes I think he thought he was a dog.  He is the only cat that actually came when you called him and he would play fetch with his toys!
 
Mo was abandoned at the Worcester County Humane Society and she and Puddkitty came to me at the same time.  Mo was 5 and very unhappy to be in such a noisy place and Pudd was 6 months and the baby in the cat room.  Mo was like Pywich – older and aloof, but she was more sociable.  Pudd you’ve already met. 
 
Cats aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but as long as you provide food and water, the occasional visit to the vet and some attention – they’re really the ideal pet for someone who wants a 4-footed companion, but doesn’t necessarily have a lot of time to devote to training.  Cats learn the litter pan in about 20 minutes.  You really don’t have to provide a bed – they’ll find their own – several actually.  I’ve read that cats need about an hour of your time a day, for petting and being paid attention.  Just sitting on you will do, too. 

The story of a 36 year old Delaware man being accused of trying to lure 12 year old kids to his place for sex is certainly disturbing, but I couldn’t help notice this little tidbit in the News Journal story: 

 

A 36-year-old Delaware man who lived with his parents and posed as a 15-year-old boy online has admitted in federal court to attempting to lure a 12-year-old girl to Delaware to have sex with him. William Edward Wilson of Dover pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., to coercion of a minor and receiving child pornography over the Internet. 

He is 36 and still living in Mom and Dads basement?  That should have been a red flag alert that something is wrong.  Right?  I mean at what age does it become socially unacceptable for men to live at home with mommy? (Maybe Mike Matthews can tell us).  Of course I am not talking about disability or unique caregiver arrangements.  I speaking of able bodied men who don’t strike out on their own and  leech off the parents forever.  I left home at 17, but I’m inclined to give a pass to guys until about age 26, but I still raise an eyebrow. 

Frank Infante’s children have been found (see below post INFANTE KIDS NO LONGER MISSING). Today on the Jared Morris show, I interviewed Mr. Infante regarding the disappearance and recovery of little Frank and Frankie.

Mr. Infante adresses the court system in Delaware, the “bias” towards mothers and the future of his family, in this all-too-cozy family drama.

Listen to the Infante Interview Audio Here: (mp3 appox 15min).

Please let’s hold comments like this to a minimum. (I didn’t say not at all, just a minimum):

On June 13th inane commenter said “This particular blog and subsequent comments are despicable. Why is WGMD even entertaining this matter?” - Which of course is the text equilvalent of “Why don’tcha jus talk ’bout sumthin’ else?”

You can hear the original story from the beginning. On June 07th, I had Frank Sr. on the program to address the initial missing children report.

Original June 7th, 2007 Audio (appox 25 min, mp3).