To whom it may concern(which is probably nobody). I think back to my youth and now i'm wishing i would have payed more attention when punctuation was taught,but i didn't.Anyway,back to my youth.I can honestly say i loved every thing about it,even the bad things i saw and did.I would handle things differently,but i wouldn't change the circumstances.I was a average kid with average friends.We would all look forward to summer,it meant getting up at dawn,asking dad or mom for money.When i say money i mean a dollar and if i wanted to push the envelope,i would go for 2 dollars.When asking for this money it always came with a lesson on where money did and didn't come from.To my surprise( i found out when i got older that mom and dad told me the truth money really doesn't grow on trees) they always gave it to me. I would take that money and buy a couple of rubber balls at 30 cents a piece and we would stay out till dark playing ball.We would play game after game after game,with every game we played there was always a winner and a loser,never a tie and i mean never.There was always a winner and a loser.I jump ahead 16 years,i have my own child, 1 of 2.I volunteer to coach the team,so we play our first game.We were terrible the score was 6 to 0.The score shows my rookie skills as a coach.After the game i was telling the kids that even though we lost 6 to 0 i was proud of them for giving it there best.I had a group of parents corner me and inform me that they were not happy that i had the nerve to tell there kids that they had lost.They informed me that as a coach i should make them all feel like winners,so if i wouldn't mind please don't keep score.I took a deep breathe and preceded to let them know that i did mind and if they wanted to have any input,then i needed an asst.coach.NO VOLUNTEERS!So,that was my wake-up call to what was in-store for me as a parent,all through elementary school my kids came home with ribbon after ribbon for just about anything they did.They had a good test,they got a ribbon,good hygiene a ribbon,tied their shoes a ribbon,wiped their ass a ribbon.It took me awhile to get here,but my point is we have raised a bunch or winners and no losers.It doesn't matter that losing builds a well rounded person.When they enter the real world and they learn that they are not as special as their self serving parents and school system led them to believe,that's when the real trouble starts.Depression,seclusion,anti-social behavior,self mutilation,violent thoughts,violence against others,murder and suicide.So why not let them be losers too.Thanks for reading.        The common man.