Grass Valley, CA — Area father Craig Thomas of Grass Valley decided to teach his 15 year old teenage son a “life lesson” by making him carry a large, unwieldy plastic bin filled with school supplies though a local Staples office supply store. Kevin Thomas, the teenager in question, was apparently complaining about how bored and tired he was, when Mr. Thomas ordered him to grab the large bin and start filling it with his school supplies.
“I wanted to teach him that his boredom is a choice,” said Mr. Craig Thomas in a The Fazzler telephone interview. “That his boredom is someone else’s opportunity. And what better place to learn this lesson than while shopping for school supplies.”
According to workers at the local Staples store, they saw Mr. Thomas talking with his son.
“I was working in the back stocking and organizing everything,” said Staples employee April Smith. “And there was this kid carrying around this large plastic tub filled with pencils and paper and binders. You know, ordinary school stuff. It did look kinda weird? I mean, why not just get a shopping cart?”
According to his father, Kevin complained about the task but eventually resigned himself to carry it. Mr. Thomas told his son, that “this was his new backpack,” but apparently that was just another form of his tough love.
“I know all this sound weird and harsh,” continued Mr. Thomas, “but how else are we going to get Kevin to grow up? I’m sure that bin got heavy after a while.”
As for Kevin, he took the task in stride and defiance.
“Look, this is my life and I’ll do what I want,” explained the 15-year-old staring at the ground. “My Dad is always doing stuff like this, so you get used to it after a while. Still, carrying that huge bin was not fun.”
