Wah

Some friends and I went out for breakfast (Percy's on Route 6) last weekend and our lovely time was interrupted by a child with the painfully high pitched scream. He was seated with his parents in the booth to our left. His shout was the kind that hits the most tender part of one's eardrum. Even his laughter was intolerable. To our dismay, his father began encouraging the boy's shouting. It was as though he forgot that they were no longer at home. That they were in a public establishment where manners are kind of a necessity. My friends and I had two choices: Stay and finish our breakfast or leave and give our ears a rest. We split.

Luckily, the family's booth had a window looking out into the parking lot. Our car was parked right in front of said window. The boy was pressed against the window, watching us getting into the car. We used this as an opportunity to get revenge. All three of us, while looking at the child, began screaming our heads off and waving our arms around. This created exactly the reaction we were hoping for. The kid started screaming back (we assume, he looked as though he were screaming. I doubt he was faking it.) and jumping up and down in his seat. The more he jumped and screamed, the more we jumped and screamed. We laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed.

I mean, really. Most times, when a child is acting up in public, the parents tell he or she to stop it. Many explain that it's rude to behave this way. Isn't it normal? I understand that a parent can become desensitized to the decibels at which their kids are capable of reaching, but the parents I know would not allow it in public.

Wow, I've been doing a lot of complaining lately.