Dealing With Bullies and Their Parents

In the midst of economic collapse, Middle-Eastern uprisings and a budget struggle threatening to shut down the country, President Obama today gave us a speech about bullying.

It is ironic that the very atmosphere of political correctness fostered by the folk who put the President in office is responsible for the rampant rise of bullying in American schools.

Where I grew up, if you did something wrong, the neighbors hit the phones and your mama knew about it before you could get home.  If you got in trouble at school, you got in twice as much when you got home. If you committed a heinous act in front of an adult, that adult was very likely fully empowered by your Dad to bust your butt. Then, when Dad found out about it, he'd bust your butt and call his friend to thank him for popping you on his behalf.

We have passed through an era in which people have gradually become so afraid of being sued by parents or reported to child abuse authorities that grown adults are reduced to mere bystanders.  Hillary Clinton is fond of telling people it takes a village to raise a child. Unfortunately, the litigous nanny state we live in has handcuffed all the people in the village and turned loose the children unsupervised.

And children are notorious barbarians. Without supervision they adopt a "Lord of the Flies" tribal social structure in which bullies rule the roost. So how do you, as a concerned adult, do anything about the problem of child-thugs in your neighborhood, public parks, grocery stores or churches?

You follow the advice of the angels!

Whenever an angel appears, the first word it always says is, "Fear not!"

Providing guidance to children is a rough sport and not for the faint-hearted. You must show unflinching courage when facing a young hoodlum. They smell fear. Show none! When you observe a child bullying another, here's what to do:

1. Approach the scene of the crime quickly, with a firm stride and confidence in your demeanor.
2. Don't ask for permission. If the parent is nearby, don't make eye contact with them. Keep focused on the young miscreant.
3. Firmly tell the child, "That's enough." Expect him to stop and give him (or her) your best steely-eye and usually, the shock will stop the behavior long enough for you to move between the bully and the intended victim. Do not raise your voice. Speak calmly and evenly. A calm person has great power, grasshopper. Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth if you need to calm down.
4. Describe the specific behavior you want stopped, even if it sounds vague as in, "Stop tormenting Tommy."  The more specific you are about what you saw, the better.
5. Don't argue with the bully.  He will deny the behavior. Don't be surprised when he does. Whatever you do, don't let him draw you into an argument. If you allow him to challenge your version of the facts, you give him power over you.
6. End the incident quickly. The best way is to explain to the bully that you WILL follow up by talking to his mother and father. They usually beat a hasty retreat at this point.

What you should do if the child's angry parent steps in?

I long ago quit asking parents if I could correct their kids. Usually, if I have to bark at one, the parents are more embarrassed than the kid. Also I'm large and have that teacher persona, so I seldom have a parent get in my face about it - not that it would do any good if they were to try. In the couple of incidences where a parent did take umbrage, I patiently explained to the parent, the full extent of the child's sin, explained exactly why I felt it necessary to intervene and assured them that I only intervened because I was not aware they were nearby and was certain they would never have condoned such behavior had they been fully aware of the problem.

Getting the parent involved in this fashion is one really great way to send home the misery to a child who is bullying his peers. The conversation at home typically begins with, "How could you embarrass me like that...."

If all the adults out there actually did subscriibe to the "It takes a village" philosophy, unruly kids wouldn't have anywhere to go to perpetrate their petty crimes. They would be confronted with corrective forces at every turn. Nothing trains a child better than living in an environment where every adult in the child's life subscribes to the 15 commandments.  You know the first ten. I've added five more as a kind of appendix for children.

     1. Thou shalt not sass thy Mama
     2. Thou shalt not run with scissors or other sharp objects.
     3. Thou shalt not go swimming for one hour after eating.
     4. Thou shalt not scratch thy private parts in public.
     5. And thou shalt not bully!

It's time adults in this country buck up and provide these young-uns some guidance. There's nothing to be afraid of. You cannot be sued for telling a child to behave himself. Just don't hit them or raise your voice and you'll be okay.

Tom

Easy Homemade Canoe, Kayak, Ladder and Lumber Rack for Your Pickup Truck

And it's removable......

© 2011 by Tom King

This thing will carry canoes, kayaks, ladders and lumber as advertised. It will also haul pipe or posts and gives you something to tie bottles of welding gas or oxygen to so that it doesn't fall over.  Here's what you need to build it.

Materials:
4 pressure-treated 12 foot 2 by 6 boards
4 pressure-treated 8 foot 2 by 6 boards
Box of-3-1/2 inch long galvanized screws
8 half-inch carriage bolts, 4 inches long with nuts and lock washers
Carpet strips, 6 inches wide the width of the pickup bed
8 half inch lag bolts, 4 inches long
3/8 inch eye screws

Tools:
Sawhorses
2 spring clamps
Staple gun and 1-1/2 inch staples
Tape measure
Carpenter Speed Square
Pencil
Bungee cords
Drill and drill bits
Circular saw

Ratcheting tie-down straps, 12+ feet long

How to Make It

First measure the inside dimensions of the pickup bed.  Measure the narrowest distances of the length and width of the inside of the bed so that final assembly can be lifted in and out of the truck bed. If the bed has wheel wells in it, the lower side boards will be mounted above them.

Cut four 2 x 6s the length of the bed and four the width of the bed. measure the height from the bed of the pickup to the top of the cab. Add 12 inches and cut 4 boards that length to act as uprights. Assemble the ends first.

Lay out two legs and clamp a 2 x 6 cross member (width of the bed) so the top edges are 4 inches below the top of the legs. Drill half inch holes and bolt the cross members in place with the carriage bolts, nuts toward the inside of the frame. Note the cross members will be oriented toward the inside of the bed.

Clamp the second cross member in place at the bottom of the legs and bolt it in place. Repeat with the other legs to make two rectangles.

Set the legs up with the cross members toward the inside of the truck bed. Clamp the long side boards to the sides of the legs at the top, even with the cross members.  Drill a half inch hole through the side boards into the ends of the cross member. Be careful not to drill into the carriage bolts. Lag bolt the side boards to the sides of the legs. 

Lag bolt the second side board to the side of the legs so the bottom of the board is a half inch higher than the top of the wheel well. Repeat on the opposite side.

Add screws at every joint to stiffen the frame and strengthen the attachment. Wrap carpet strips across the top of the cross members to pad the frame when carrying things. Staple the carpet strips at the bottom to hold them in place.

Drill and attach eye screws to the front and back of the end frames at the top to act as tie-downs. When you need to use it, simply lift the frame into the back of the truck, attach bungee cords or ratcheting tie-downs between the eye bolts and the truck bed to hold the frame in place. 

Now, you're ready go. It allows you to carry long or bulky things without them sticking out the back or resting on the cab. When you're done with it, you can get a helper, drop the tailgate and lift it out.  

It takes only a couple of hours to cut out and assemble the pieces.

© 2011 by Tom King

Chris Wheaton sent me a photograph of the rack he built from these plans.  As you can see from the picture, the frame is sturdy and leaves plenty of room underneath for paddles, life jackets, camping and fishing gear.  Thanks for sending these along, Chris.

Tom

Very solid work by Chris Wheaton 

Note the hooks on the inside of the legs for fishing poles and paddles.

Chris wrote this comment about his version of this wooden canoe/ladder rack shown above.

This thing is rock solid, I could probably park my truck on top of this thing to be honest. And I added in some hooks and whatnot, we use this to hang our gear after a day of smallie fishing. I bring it deer hunting too as we hang deer from it, just slide it to the end of the tailgate.  Could not be happier with it and was 1/10 of the price of a ladder rack and serves so many purposes.  Thanks again! - Chris

Scott sent me the pictures below with this note, "Thanks for the great plans.  Built this over Memorial Day weekend.  Very happy with the results - though it is HEAVY!  That's okay, I'd rather err on the side of over-built anyhow." 

Here's what his project looks like:

Scott screwed some eyebolts into the frame for holding his bungees.

In a pinch you could nest a couple of kayaks up there too.

Very nice work there, Scott. Thanks for sharing.  It certainly is not a light frame, but if you're hauling boats, you want everything to be solid - especially if you'll be using this around kids, which is where this came from. You could haul a couple of boats, tents and a ton of gear for a youth campout with this rig and the boats help keep the water off your gear if it rains.

Love the pictures guys. Thanks for sending them.  - Tom

----------------

Got this idea from Michael P. Nobrega in Otter River, MA:

Hi Tom,

Thanks again for the truck rack design; I had lots of fun building it this weekend for my new F-150.
I made a few design modifications in order to make it portable for one man to handle.

My design is a knock-apart system and it requires no tools to install or remove the rack.
The rack system consists of six pieces which can be effortlessly assembled/disassembled.
The front and rear frames are one-piece rectangular assemblies while the four side rails detach easily.
I used 1/2" threaded bar through the uprights with a nylon locknut/washer on the outboard side and a wingnut/lock washer on the inboard side.
I added 2" PVC pipe to the top of the front and rear frames to make loading and unloading a breeze. Just bore the pipe and screw with 3-1/2" exterior decking screws.

This system carried several construction staging planks without making a squeak!

See photos attached.

Warmest regards,

Mike

 Notice the padding on the top rails. They are easy to make with a good sharp knife and some of those open cell foam "noodles" the kids play with in the pool - just cut a channel in one and slip it over the edge of the board.

You can see how the wingnuts let you to remove the long boards leaving just the two end frames to lift in and out. It's quick with the wingnuts. You can store the whole thing against a wall in the garage and assemble it in minutes when you need it.

Here's a closeup of the wingnuts.  A long drill, but doable with a long bit.

 Here's the lower long support member wingnutted (is that even a word) into place.
- Great idea, Mike!













Here's a version built by Kevin Leroy Froese that maintains stability by raising the lower lengthwise supports above the wheel wells. Looks great! Kevin is using the rack to carry his fishing boat.







This past week Keith Taylor sent me pictures and a really excellent video of his own version of this same canoe rack. Keith added some metal brackets to his truck to hold the up rights and built the whole thing with 2x4's and lag bolts. It allows him room to load up his ATV under the rack with canoes on top. He adds some width to the crossmembers so that the rack will carry two canoes side by side. The whole thing can be disassembled for storage and reassembled for carrying the boats. Here's the very watchable video Keith sent me of his very clever adaptation.  Enjoy...

Lovely work, Keith.

Tom

Make Your Backyard Ball Field Look Professional

Make a Homemade Line Marking Machine
(c) 2011 by Tom King

Introduction:

A homemade line marking machine can be cobbled together from a pipe, some window screen and bits of plywood. A commercial line-marker isn't very expensive, but if you want to put one together for yourself, this is one way to do it.

Stuff You Are Going to Need:

• Half sheet of half inch plywood
• 4 round head bolts, one quarter inch by 3-1/2 inches long
• Saber saw
• Compass
• Drill
• 1 half-inch drill bit
• 1 hole saw, ¾ inch diameter
• Large cork
• Stapler
• Tin snips
• 12 quarter inch nuts
• 8 quarter inch lock washers
• Screen wire, aluminum
• 1 3/8-inch all thread rod, 5 inches long
• 2 3/8-inch nuts
• Metal punch
• Mallet
• 1 steel pipe, 3/4 inch  by 5 feet long

• Pipe insulation

Mark two 12-inch circles on the plywood and cut them out with the saber saw. Sandwich the circles together and drill four quarter-inch holes evenly spaced an eighth inch from the outside edge and through both plywood disks.

Feed the four quarter-inch bolts through one of the disks all in the same direction. Slip lock washers and screw nuts onto the bolt on the opposite side of the disk to hold the bolt in place. Tighten the nut. Screw a second nut 3/4 from the ends of the bolts and thread lock washers over them. Place the second disk over the bolts and bolt it to the end with four more nuts. This will secure the disks about 2 inches apart.

Drill a 5/16-inch hole in the center of the two disks running all the way through both disks for the axle. Drill a ¾ inch hole in one side with the hole saw. Plug a cork, large enough to fit snugly into the filler hole.

Cut a strip of screen wide enough to cover the gap between the disks and long enough to circle the outside diameter of the disks. Lay the screen around the outside of the disk assembly and staple the edges to the disks to create a drum with screen wire edges.

Drill a 5/16-inch hole horizontally through the end of the ¾ inch pipe about half an inch from the end. Fish the 3/8-inch all thread rod through the hole and bolt one end leaving most of the length sticking out on the opposite side.

Slip the disk onto the axle with the filler hole to the outside. Screw a nut onto the end of the axle to hold the chalk drum in place on the axle. Lay the assembly on its side on a hard surface. Place the punch against one end of the axle and tap it with the mallet to expand the threads and hold the drum in place. Flip the assembly over and expand the other end of the axle.

Slip pipe insulation over the opposite end of the pipe for a handle grip and duct tape it into place. To use the marker, fill the drum with lime or marble dust and roll it along the ground to mark the lines.

Store the marker machine in a dry place with the marker dust.  Keep everything dry so that the marking dust doesn't cake on the screen when you roll out the line.  Avoid using on wet grass to prevent clumping of marking chalk

Note: When I first made one of these I lived in bone dry Texas. If you live in a damp climate, you may have to do as I did and bolt two additional circles of wood on either side of the drum. After I moved north, I found the constantly damp grass clogged my screen so that the lime/marble dust wouldn't flow. By adding disks that were 4-6 inches in diameter larger (depending on how high your grass is) to the outside of the drum, I could lift the screen a couple of inches above the grass. The white dust is neatly confined within the width of the two wheels and still make a neat line. Simply line up the bolt holes, mark the additional disks, drill them and bolt it all together with the larger disks on the outside of the drum. You may need to use a half inch or so longer bolts but it shouldn't be a problem.

© 2017 by Tom King