Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Meanest Mom On The Planet

Jane Hambleton has dubbed herself the "Meanest mom on the planet." However, I'm not so sure that I wouldn't have done the same thing as she did to her son if I was in her situation.

Her son, who is 19, was found to have alcohol in his car. So what did the mother do as punishment? She sold his car, but not in the most conventional way. Sure she put an add in the local paper advertising the sale of the car, but here is exactly how it read:

"OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on the planet."

When Mrs. Hambleton bought the car for her son around Thanksgiving, she says that she set two ground rules for her son. 1.) No Booze and 2.) Always keep your doors locked. Obviously the son never heard the first rule.

"The ad cost a fortune, but you know what? I'm telling people what happened here," Hambleton says. "It's overwhelming the number of calls I've gotten from people saying 'Thank you, it's nice to see a responsible parent.' So far there are no calls from anyone saying, 'You're really strict. You're real overboard, lady."

The only critic is her son, who Hambleton says is "very, very unhappy" with the ad and claims the alcohol was left by a passenger. So why didn't he just throw it out. He knew his moms rules. Well, maybe he really didn't hear the first rule about no booze. Whatever the case, I'm sure that he is going to be bitter for a long time. I say tough cookies. You should have known better.

There's no doubt in my mind that I would probably do the same thing to my own son if he had alcohol in his car as well. I have already told myself that if any of my kids even get as much as a speeding ticket, they'll never drive again until they are out of my house. I may not sell their car for that type of infraction, but who knows.