Adolescence

Is a funny thing - it turns kids into strange and absurd creatures...creatures you'd sometimes like to pummel. I myself at 28 & 3/4 am just coming out of adolesence and it hit me the other day just how odd and attention-seeking they/we really are. More than that, I realized that adolesence and all the nonsense that comes with it truly knows no cultural boundaries. In the U.S. we might like to think we have the market cornered on teens, their angst, their self-centeredness, their wide-eyed idealism couched in baseless, sophomoric emotions and the latest diatribe from Lady Gaga but I assure you dear readers, teenagers here in Hondie are just as foolish. Don't get me wrong, I like them and all, they make me laugh, they keep life interesting and one-on-one that can be downright mature-ish. In a herd though, they turn into mindless lemmings, blindly following the next half-baked idea handed down by the loudest and oldest of the crew and not thinking through the consequences of their ridiculous actions. The other evening a whole load of lemmings showed up at my door just as I was finishing dinner. They didn't want anything other than to visit for a bit, though they gladly accepted 3 litres of Pepsi when I offered it. No, they simply came to sit on my porch, make fun of each other, be loud, rambunctious and cool. And then they decided it would be good to pose for photos; why this was a logical progression in the course of the evening is beyond me but it seemed good and wise to them to wrap themselves in my dog's leash and pose in semi-gangsta stances and then laugh at the results. I indulged them hoping they would move on if I didn't fight it...they didn't. I really do like these guys, I swear.

here we have the leader of the group, marco, the loudest, the most generous. at various times i'd like to slay him but generally he's a good kid

there's his toady, eddy who hangs on his every word and laughs the loudest at his jokes.

there's mario, eddy's best friend. he can be overly loud but i love this kid - he's always happy and always nice.

there's nelson, who in the u.s. might be referred to as the village idiot. he's amiable and nice but not terribly smart. on christmas eve he wished me happy birthday 3 times...i turn 29 in april.

there's moye, the most impressionable and reluctant of the crew.

and then there's my favorite, blas (that's his real name by the bye). he's quiet and reserved but always respectful and when he does speak it's either profound or hilarious.

the group shot with the killed 3 litres of pepsi

gotta love adolesence