now thats cool. we build the engines that go to nummi. i ship them really. auto is hard to be in. things take a dive at anytime. we've been lucky to still be running.

i think teens still go to the mall. but its just to hang out. i don't go there anymore. i don't like the stuff they have there. but the malls here stink. there not that good anymore.

It's strange, but in retrospect, the bowling alley, skating rink, and theater were places I went as a youth. Bowling alley more than the others. As well as, parks, and gyms and the Chicago Lakefront. But, we didn't hang around in the parking lots. We actually bowled, skated, played baseball, football, basketball, learned to box, and fished when we went there. And, when we were done, we went home for dinner, or to do homework.

Kids today, just hang around, as he said in parking lots, and nothing good can come from that. We used to have a law when I grew up that no more than 4 people could be together, and not doing something. The Police would look for groups of loiterers and break up the congregation.

Today, skating rinks are a thing of the past. Gyms and parks are empty. The movie theater costs money. So, kids just hang out, with nothing to do. I still blame the parents for not instilling in their children the value of education, or even just reading a book. The internet, to some respect, occupies their attention. But, they have little chance to develop socially sitting in a room. And, you hear too many horror stories of who kids meet on the internet anyway.

It is a shame, but the family, as a unit, is disappearing. Families don't know what to do together. I have to ask, why have children, if you don't intend to raise them?

Maybe, this will take care of itself. I recently listened to a two hour radio talk program that factually explained that the world population has been declining since 1980. In fact, in most industrialized countries, more people are dying than are being born, reducing the total population.

Some interesting factors were:
34% of children born in this Country are born outside of wedlock. So, there is NO family. And, the number of offspring tends to be 1.
Children from broken homes or from single parents tend to have fewer children.
The trend to cohabitation rather than marriage is producing fewer children.
The advanced age that people are marrying yields fewer children do to the physical non-productive age of the parents.
Careers of women, cause them to bear children later and in fewer numbers.
And, the decline of Faith in the family is directly correlated to the number of children in a family, though not a causal relationship.

So, as bowling alleys are closing, there may not be any kids to hang out there anyway.

In fact, the interviewer sited television programs as an example. 20+ years ago the top programs were "The Waltons", "Brady Bunch" and "8 is enough". Programs with plenty of kids. Today, it is hard to find a program that has a family, and one with more than 2 kids.

BTW, the average number of children to child-bearing women in this Country has fallen from 2.6 to 2.1. Spain is 1.1. China is 1.1. And, Italy is 1.2. The Country of Russia will lose a net of 40 million people by the year 2050.

I was an odd kid (I am still odd but that is a completely different story). I never really hung out in town or at the mall. I was always at some sort of sport practice from when I was 6 until I got out of HS. Wrestling, baseball, football, karate, Track, and bowling. During the summertime starting when I was 10, I was working for farmers who lived near me. I started my first job not for a farmer the day after I turned 16. The only place I ever actually hung out at was the bowling alley. The main reason for that is my mom worked there. The owner liked me and used to bowl professionally. He would get a new ball and let me use it. He would "work" on a lane and then let me bowl on it to make sure that it was functioning okay. When my mom ran the junior leagues, it was a mess when she took over. Parents would drop their kids off at the door and then wait outside in their car for their kids to come out. Sometimes, the parents would leave them there and when everyone would be done, there would be kids sitting there. By the time she quit (when I went off to college), there were parents watching every week and then bowling with their kids afterward.

I hate to point the finger, but a lot of the blame is on the parents. When parents use malls and bowling alleys as day cares, only trouble can come.

Our center also seems to be a drop off for seniors too. We have a couple that do not bowl, but you can find them there all day every day. Very sad.

Dropped off?

My first two YABA years my parents made me lug my ball a mile each way. These kids today!

My Government and Politics professor used to say, "Economic Development is the best contraceptive." There is a causal relationship between GDP and birth rate.

i wonder this a lot here lately. i have a child. she's only 2. i would do anything for her. but i have to raise her too. the right way. she's not going to be like me. i wont stand for it. its the one thing that makes me raise her. she wont be me. i see parents all the time just let there kids go. don't take an interest in anything they do. i hear this at work. people say" my kid always wants me to do something but i just tell them to go to there room." why did you have them if you dont want them.? i play with mine. i can't wait to see her when i get home. she follows me everywhere when i get home. and i love it. she's so much fun. my wife has fits when she sees a parent that want take an interest in there kid. she's just like me always playing. so some people just dont need to reproduce and some do. but try to take an interest in what your kid is doing. no matter what the age. bowl, movies, go out to eat, go to the park like we do, mall and football games. how hard is it.?

Apparently pretty hard for some. I'm glad to see both my brother and sister taking an interest in their kids, unlike so many others. My brother has four boys, the oldest is 16 in a month followed by a 13 year old, and a 10 year old and anchored by a 7 year old in a few days over a month(man their ages make me feel old). They all play baseball or soccer and he is had every game he can, sometimes he is a coach for one of the teams.

thats the people who love kids. ones that will get in there with them. thats what it's all about. i've seen people not care what there kids do and just work as much as possible just to avoid it. i worked a lot in the past years at toyota. but i didn't have a kid till up to 2 years ago. now i think different about how much i work. if i get 40 hours i'm good if i 43 i'm cool any more than that takes family time away for me. plus wife works. so yeah i'm big into family time. i use to put 55 to 60 hours a week in before my kid. now 40's good more time to play. thats why i never get to bowl more than 2 days a week too. sunday league and may be saturday. if i'm lucky

I guess this shows we've come full cycle. Can't wait to get there. Bowling all day, yeah!!! Every day!!!

There are plenty of Senior Communities here. And, one of the prime activities is bowling. They don't hang around. But, the Community bus brings them and picks them up. It's the same for Bingo.

Some daytime Senior leagues here are larger than the regular night leagues.

We have an older (1950 date) House with 12 wooden lanes near here. It's in a faming community. Well, needless to say, times have been rough for the House. But, a few years ago, a retirement Community was built near there. It is up to 2000 units, and has more residents than the original town.

I spoke with Donnie, the son of the original owner, who now owns it, last April. He said he now has more daytime leagues for Seniors than he has night time leagues. What a boon for him.

Many of our senior leagues are like that. In fact 38% of our entire sanctioning body are "seniors". Just our center alone has a senior scratch 610 trios, and two sanctioned day leagues that use the entire 32 lane house. Plus a 9 pin no tap senior league on Friday that fills the house.

But just as we were talking about the centers being babysitting fascilities for kids, seems some adult children are also using it for their senior folks.

Erin