Comments on: Think Before You Dump Those Coals!

By: Mary Ellenm

Mary Ellenm — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:25:56 +0000

Again, I will point out that it was not so dark that the toddler could not be seen and 10 feet is not a far distance for a child to be . Measure it out and see for yourself. Are you telling me that we have to tie our children to our legs or keep them locked up in a stroller unless they are in their own homes or yards? Is that how you were raised? The mother of this child never took her eyes off her and the toddler’s 10 year old brother was right be her side…he didn’t see the coals either.

Blaming the mother is ridiculous, put the blame where it belongs, on the person who so foolishly duped the coals where they knew children would be playing, in the park. It could easily have been an adult who stepped in the coals, or a teenager, or an 8 year old. Should all 8 year olds be kept in a stroller?

By: foxyladi14

foxyladi14 — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:05:07 +0000

a sad story.but a miracle one too.she could have hurt so much worse.thank GOD.she will be alright.
some people are so careless.

By: irish

irish — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:35:10 +0000

I agree people should be more careful about there coals and it in inexcuseable to just dump them on the ground. However, from reading some of the other comments i have to point out that as parents and pet owners, we have a responsibility to keep a constant eye on babies and fur babies. As someone who worked in retail for 20 years and watched parents let their little ones toddle around playing with and bumping into racks, fixtures, shelves, hangers, and other potentially harmful objects, when the little ones got hurt, as some invariably did, how often did I hear “You all should NOT have those (fill in the blank) where children can bump into them!”

Er, no. You should not have your children running around where they might get hurt. They should be in a stroller, in your arms, or by your side at all times, not running around in unfamiliar territory. Your back yard is one thing as you can control that to some degree. A retail store or other public place, even a park, is another. Keep your kids close to avoid injury. And 10 feet is not close enough unless you have checked that radius for possible danger. Parental responsibility is definitely a factor in cases like this.

By: Waiting4Hill

Waiting4Hill — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:54:45 +0000

So happy that this beautiful little angel is on the road to recovery. Those coals should have been properly disposed of. People need to think!
To JozefAL—you’re saying that the mother should have known better? Well, so should you.

By: Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 06:40:56 +0000

Susan- Thanks, that’s a very good point. I often see celebrities making public service announcements about safety, but that is usually only when they have children of their own who have been hurt. Obviously, the city of Chicago doesn’t seem to care much about this issue since this is something that happens to many children every summer in the Chicago parks. They only think about what they can do to avoid a law suit…putting out a few coal dispensers and one sign. They don’t seem to care about the number of kids who are being hurt. I wish my daughter would have sued the Park District…not for the money, but to force them to make public service announcements on TV and the radio. Or, at the very least, do a little more to patrol the parks on busy holiday weekends when this is more likely to occur. Maybe a $500 fine for dumping coals on the ground would wake up the public.

By: Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 06:35:14 +0000

JozefAL- Allowing a child to play 10 feet away from you is hardly irresponsible. It wasn’t pitch dark when this happened, it was dusk. You can still see your children. Obviously you are looking to blame someone other than the person who dumped the coals….blame the victim, is that your game? The toddler’s mother could see her child just fine and the child was in no danger of being kidnapped…but the coals were not visible because they had cooled on the top and looked only like dust. It wasn’t until the toddler fell into them that you could see that they were burning embers inside.

Really, your comment was beyond ignorant…it just showed what an ass you are.

By: SusanUnPC

SusanUnPC — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:14:06 +0000

Mary Ellen, this is the kind of message we should try to do more on blogs. And I think even more of John Kass than I already did. He has a true gift for writing compelling and entertaining essays that also impart critical information.

Thank you very much for sharing this story with us.

Maybe schools can help out with this info. If children see their parents not properly disposing of coals — and the kids have been made aware of this story — they’ll lecture their parents to do the right thing and put the coals in those special cans.

When I was a child, we all had Smokey the Bear stuffed animals but Smokey wasn’t just a cuddly toy. He came with a very clear message about preventing forest fires, and we were all taught to be very careful. As I recall, back in those days of black and white TV, Smokey did PSAs too that were charming but also carried a serious message about fires that we all took to heart.

Is Smokey still sold? If not, it’s time to bring him back to teach kids about all the ways that fires can be started, and people get burned.

By: JozefAL

JozefAL — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:24:06 +0000

While I feel sympathy for the poor little girl, one could just as equally point some of tthe blame on her parents who (apparently) couldn’t be bothered to keep a better eye on the child. A “Toddlers will be toddlers, after all” mentality.
In the story, it’s stated quite plainly that “it was dark” and the child had wandered 10 or 15 feet–that’s more than enough distance for that child to have been abducted (especially, if “it was dark”). We aren’t told in the story that mom was keeping a careful watch on the child–the story leaves us to “speculate” about the child and it notes the child was screaming. Did mom actually watch the girl fall down or did she only react AFTER hearing the screaming? (If the latter, mom is JUST as culpable as that “thoughtless barbarian”.)
Maybe mom should have packed up the kids and gone home instead of sitting with the kids on the blanket after the walk.
I don’t care about being called “heartless”–it doesn’t change the fact that “mom” should have been more careful.

By: Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 17:31:42 +0000

Thank you!

I can’t imagine walking away if my dog pooped on the ground. I always have a pocketful of “poop bags” just in case. I don’t even let my dog go to beaches because even if she peed in the water, I’d feel horrible for those stuck swimming in it.

By: Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 17:28:51 +0000

I had a dog once (Siberian Husky) who was terrified of storms and fireworks. The week before the 4th we had to give him tranquilizers and continue with them until about a week later when everyone got over their use of fireworks.

As far as the guy who dumped the coals, I doubt if he knew anything happened because of his actions. As John Kass said, there were a bunch more piles of coals dumped in the same area, even just a few feet from the coal dispenser.

I also had a situation when I brought my dog to “dog days” at the ballpark. My husband and I were walking the dog back to our car on the way home and my husband felt his foot get warm and realized he was standing in a pile of hot coals that had been dumped on the ground (from tailgaiters). His shoe kept his foot from being burned but I wonder how many dogs had their paws burned by this act?

When coals look cool, they are still white hot in the middle. You can’t see them glowing because the top had already turned cool.

By: Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 17:24:01 +0000

Hi Shainzona- I’m sorry I didn’t get here earlier, I had to be away from my computer this morning for awhile.

I would love it if you could post it or pass this message on. And thank you so much for helping me out with this very important announcement!

By: sarainitaly

sarainitaly — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:58:31 +0000

How awful!!

I get so pissed off when people do such selfish things! I get all pissed off when people spit on the sidewalk, or don’t scoop their poop. I now am outraged that people would dump hot coals on a beach. I swear…sometimes people just drive me crazy!!

Glad your grandaughter is ok now. And thanks for the heads up!

By: Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:30:45 +0000

Yes, you are right, Diana – maybe if those people could READ they wouldn’t have dumped out hot coals right beside the dang coal box! People. Sheesh.

Tell us more abt your Iranian rescue dogs sometime, please!

And I hear ya – I was just telling Linda Anselmi that the good thing abt my oldest dog going deaf is that the fireworks they shoot off a couple of docks down from us don’t freak Sasha out anymore. She sleeps right through them. But, my mom’s dog, Dorothy, and Lucy (the mama dog), are terrified of storms, thus, I’m guessing, fireworks. Sigh.

Anyway – this is an intense story – thank heavens Liana is better now…

By: Heather

Heather — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:11:24 +0000

What a beautiful child and what a sad story. You are lucky that the University of Chicago didn’t send you away. My daughter is on Medicaid while I am in school and they apparently likely would have refused to treat her there now because of Michelle Obama’s Urban Health Care Initiative. They would have sent us to the Stroger hospital. People are such idiots!! That is why I avoid the lakefront. And I don’t go to the Taste of Chicago because I don’t want to get shot and every year some one gets shot.

By: Diana L. C.

Diana L. C. — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:17:04 +0000

Thanks for the story. Your granddaughter is so beautiful. I hope the idiot who dumped the coal read it and changed his ways, but then he/she probably couldn’t read (or chose not to read) that there were places where the coals should be dumped. It annoys me how little people think about the consequences of their sctions.

As for me, I have turned into a grouch about the Fourth. All my life, I’ve had dogs who just become nervous wrecks because of the neighborhood kids and their fireworks out here in the West. I’ve spent much time on the holiday trying to comfort dogs, usually in a basement, when they start. I wish they would outlaw them.

Spent last night already on the floor in the basement with my two large Iranian rescue dogs because the fireworks in the neighborhood had already started. The dogs were panting hard and pacing until early in the morning when the popping finally stopped. It will be far worse tonight and go on for a few days after.