Young admirer defies father to attend Worcester firefighter’s wake

Boston Herald ^ | December 15, 2011 | Richard Weir

[ConservativeStatement]

He was under strict orders not to leave the house after school. But 11-year-old Jared Flanders neatly knotted his tie, climbed on his bike and went to pay his last respects to fallen Worcester firefighter Jon Davies at a funeral home down the street yesterday.

Jared didn’t know the hero jake who died after rushing into a blazing triple-decker last week. Yet, the boy’s kind-hearted salute lifted the spirits of firefighters attending Davies’ wake.

[SkyDancer]

Then why tie the article to the boy attending the funeral?

[knittnmom]

Why? The boy’s dad, Gene Flanders, 45, said last night his son broke the rules by leaving the house, but he can’t punish him now:

[moose-matson]

Then why tie the article to the boy attending the funeral?

___________________________________

Here's a wild guess.....

Because that's where he went.

[Cyber Liberty]

Nobody has called for a vote on this yet, but if there were a poll I’d vote “you are wrong.”

[SkyDancer]

Well ya - so the father was a jerk as I said. It would be one thing if the kid went to some wild party but instead he went to the funeral of a fire fighter who died in the line of duty. The father is a jerk as I said.

[Altariel]

Because the boy did leave the house, in defiance of his father’s instructions. That is why both facts are tied together.

Fact #1: The boy attended a fire fighter’s funeral to pay his respects. This would have been (unequivocally) a good thing, except that Fact #1 is tied to fact #2.

Fact #2: The boy defied his father’s instructions about not leaving the home (without asking permission to attend the funeral) in order to attend the funeral.

[thackney]

Then why tie the article to the boy attending the funeral?

??? Because that is what he did. That IS the story, it isn't tied to the story.

You are projecting another part to the story that is not stated or alluded to in any way.

[Altariel]

So, the father is a “jerk” only because you find the son’s disobedience acceptable in this instance?

That’s the reasoning of a child.

[thackney]

What do you think his father’s first thought was when a cop answered his cell phone?

I have an 11 year old, but she doesn't have her own cell phone. If I called the house to check on her while she was grounded and should have arrived home from school alone, it would be moment of terror.

[moose-matson]

Well ya - so the father was a jerk as I said. It would be one thing if the kid went to some wild party but instead he went to the funeral of a fire fighter who died in the line of duty.

__________________________________

Thank you michelle.

[Iron Eagle]

This is one funny thread. First, we don’t know why the boy was not to leave the house. Nothing in the story indicates in any way the father knew of the funeral and the son’s intenetion to go to it. In fact, based on the dad’s reaction, it was clear he did not know the son intended to go to the funeral. Second, the story is about a young boy who cared enough about a stranger to break a rule and go pay his respects. The story is about the heart of the boy, not the rule he broke. Finally, if anyone here has somehow deduced that the father is a jerk, then they have not read nor understood the story. How is it that a boy could be raises with such moral courage and a big heart, and be raised by a “jerk.” That is completely inconsistent with the actions of the boy, and the further understanding of the father.

[SkyDancer]

Okay, you’re right. Father was right. Son was wrong. Great role model for the kid.

[SkyDancer]

Okay, you’re right. Father right. Son wrong. Great role model for the kid.

[SkyDancer]

Again. You’re right. Father right. Son wrong. Great role model for the kid.

[Mr. Lucky]

The boy was grounded, but the father didn't punish him for attending the funeral; which, of course, means that the father did allow him to attend.

More significant is why you would arrogate to yourself the authority anonymously to "call out" a father for maintaining discipline over his child.

[SkyDancer]

Didn’t. So okay, you’re right. The father was right. The kid was wrong. Great role model teaching from the father.

[GizzyGirl]

Wow, I'm with you, this is an endearing article!

My daughter, when she got home from school and I wasn't there, had to check in and let me know she was home. And, on most days, she was not to go anywhere until I got home. She wasn't in trouble and she never thought she was. For us it was a matter of safety and if she was going anywhere I wanted to know who was picking her up, what time, etc.

This young man must have some pretty wonderful parents to raise a boy with such a big kind heart. And smart!!! He knows how to tie a tie from a book? And how to fly a helicopter? Wow! Sure beats spending his time with a video game!

Power to the parents, and thanks for posting.

[TalonDJ]

Okay, you’re right. Father was right. Son was wrong. Great role model for the kid.

You are demonstrating a complete failure to apply logic of reason. The father is right. That is an assumption based on no information. He gets the benefit of the doubt because a rule require a latch key kid to stay home makes perfect sense. The kid was wrong to disobey his father and leave the house. Where he went is irrelevant. You are having an emotional reaction to ‘where’ and using that to judge the situation. If he had been hit by a car on the way to the funeral you might agree that he should not have disobeyed his father.

What if a parent told a 5 year old to not run out in the street but then they ran out in the street to save a puppy from getting run over? Does that make the parent a jerk? Does that make the parent ‘wrong’ for setting the rule? No, the rule was perfectly fine. Not everything is as black and white as you are making it.

What if the kid stole a car to go visit some old folks in a nursing home? Does that mean whoever told him to not steal cars was a jerk?

Try to apply some logic to your posts and refrain from insulting someone you don’t know based only on a newspaper article.

[SkyDancer]

Every time I have some faith in the intelligence of people I get an argument like yours. Thanks for the reply.

[Jareds Father]

This year my son takes the bus home from school. I was nervous about him coming home to an empty house, but it has worked out well. His grades have gone up. Once he gets home, the rule is don’t leave the house, because we live off a busy road. Plus, he has homework which needs to get done before soccer. He calls me at work when he gets home, as he did on this day. He mentioned the helicopters flying over the house for the funeral on that busy road a quarter-mile away. I didn’t know he was going to pay his respects for the firefighter, but I know why he did. His half-brother had committed suicide after coming home from Iraq in August and we had just flown back from that service. It was still on his mind.