I was on my way within 60 seconds, the only thing going faster then my heart were the wheels of my car...
Even though my rational mind new that the chances of this being something more then a momentary issue were slim, the thought that he'd be lost out near heavy traffic, or anything worse, left a pit in my stomach. It was one of those moments where you are torn between feeling like there's nothing to worry about and going about your business, vs finding out later in the day that he'd not been found yet, and not having been involved or concerned at the time.
Parenthood Boulevard is littered with these kinds of pot holes.
Clearly, all turned out well, or I'd not be writing about it here. Shortly after she called me, he emerged from a hiding place in one of the lockers in which clothes are stored by visitors.
This little episode has strengthen my GPS soapbox. Allow me to speak, dear friends and gathered masses, about the potential possibilities of parental protection in the next century...
A service exists for pet owners, in which a tiny micro chip is placed under the skin at the back of the neck. it's as tiny as you see in the image above and it's a minor task to embed. Once it's in, the owner and the vet have access to scan and retrieve the contact info about that cat to any given point at any given time. My mom's had that done with her cats.
Now, if it's OK to do that to help identify a lost cat, why the hell would anybody raise objections to putting a GPS chip on a child? How could the possible arguments of 'human rights', 'privacy' and 'treating a child like an animal' come into the picture? Having seen and used a 'child harness' on more than one occasion, you'd be amazed at the looks you get and relative 'guilt' you feel doing so, but that's completely devoid of any logic and/or reasoning, and just an idiotic emotional response based on short sighted reflex thinking. IMHO.
For the record: I'd put one in each of my kids without hesitation. In fact, I'm irritated and relatively disgusted that it's an option for a fuckin' cat and not my offspring. When they're old enough and no longer my responsibility to shepherd and protect, they can take it out... perhaps tattoo and piercing parlors could offer a two-for-one special. Until then, their ass is mine to protect, and they don't have any 'privacy' rights or issues until they're adults.
I know that the movies shown on the Lifetime Network and the fear inducing programming designed to capture Dateline viewers in order to sell more advertising time are not representative of the typical family's experiences. BUT in any event, in any situation or circumstance, if a child of mine was missing, what better way to ensure a rapid and effective way to locate them, regardless of being lost hiking or wandering the mall, or being driven away in some sick fuck wad pediophile's van? And to quote statistics, the U.S. Dept of Justice statistics of kidnapping children in America estimates that 114,600 non-family abductions are attempted each year, with approximately 3,200 to 4,600 being successful. The peace of mind i'd have knowing that the need to find a lost child was merely a matter of pulling out a locating device would be worth every penny.
A bit of web surfing turns up a wide range of opinions and perspectives, from those of my own to those of people who see this as some violation of constitutional rights and a step towards and Orwellian future. This is not about a government body or agency branding and tracking the population, keeping stats on political agendas, work ethics and/or durations of bowel movements. This is about putting a system/process in place through which we can reduce the threats to and proect the welfare of our children. They have bracelets for Alzheimer's patience that do this same thing in respect to being lost, but it's less likely that somebody's gonna force one of them into a car and pry that off as they drive away. This is not a forced compliance but a parental choice and right. If I'd been raised in a time in which this was an option I'd probably have wanted to have it removed when I was old enough to not be at risk, and savvy enough to know that the grungy man driving along side me, claiming that the family kitty cat was lost and could I help him, was not to be trusted. If I ventured out of range of the boy scouts camp at the age of 14, becoming lost and having to survive in the wilderness for days; what effective solution would make more sense.... having a line of 25 people stumbling through the woods shouting my name for a day or two while banging bushes and trees with sticks, or reaching for a nearby Garmin? You tell me.
For the present time, I guess we should respect the rights of toddlers to not be subjected to such a heinous act as being trackable and easily located until they're older, and instead, focus our efforts on the human rights of those poor souls that don't know any better then to abuse a child.... perhaps we should try and get them more counseling, hmmm? And making sure their name's spelled correctly on the Megan's Law website so they'll be easier to refer to when your daughter tells you that the neighbor touched her in a funny way. Oh, and of course, ensuring that the conditions they reside in for the short time before their set back on our street, regardless of the fact that it's been proven that you can not rehabilitate a sex offender, are kept up to standards and the three meals they get each day are balanced and nutritious and above par with the typical fare subsidized in our elementary schools by fast food chains.
rrrrrrrrrright.
For the mean time, until that option exists, I have found and will order a couple of little 'locater' style toys that can be clipped onto their clothes or stuffed into their pockets, which will emit a sound if they travel 'out of range' or when the keyfob locator button is pressed. That'll be sufficient for the occasional 'hiding in a locker' trick that might lie ahead for us.
09/21/06 UPDATE: I referred to my mom's cats having GPS chips, and it turns out they're not GPS, but microchips that can be encoded with the owners name/info. I've updated this post to remove that reference. - gsm