Training children

The Bible says, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Lenin is supposed to have said, "Give me a child until he's five and I'll have him forever." or something along those lines.

I have trained my children to respond to two particular sounds I make. One is the piercing whistle which means, "Get yourself over here immediately!" which I use when they are far away and/or out of sight. The second sound is the hissing 'tsst' used to quietly get their attention when they're nearby.

The other day, Richelle and I were in a grocery store I don't usually frequent but it was on the way home and we were tired. I was about fifteen feet from the end of an aisle checking prices when I heard young men's voices coming from my left. For some reason, I looked up. Three young men appeared, meandering across the end of my aisle and discussing something fairly seriously. Two of the guys were strangers to me but the one in the middle looked somewhat like Cameron. I say 'somewhat' because he was nearly hidden behind one of the boys.

Do I call to him? What if it isn't Cameron and I look like an idiot? What if it is and I've ignored him?

Almost on its own, my mouth made the 'tssst' sound. The boy's head snapped around even as his legs carried out the 'walk' order and he disappeared from sight.

Pause...

Suddenly Cameron appeared, walking backwards, and a look of utter confusion on his face.

Yup. Training wins out.

Oh, the serious discussion? How to stretch $50 to cover food for two days.