So last night we have our usual handful of couples and their kids over for New Years.....and I once again begrudgingly went along with it all. I'm just 'over' the whole get together for New Years thing....would rather just not do anything cuz I'm well into the 'get off my lawn' stage of being older and would just prefer to not do any of the song and dance. Anyway, the first couple that we know really well showed up around 7:15ish along with their son (16) and a buddy (16). We start talking to the couple and the two kiddos saunter off to wait for my two older sons to get home from work. Which they did around 7:30.
Fast Forward....it's the end of the night....everyone's gone and we're cleaning up and my wife and middle son come to me and say we need to tell you something but wanted to wait until everyone was gone. The proceed to tell me this:
When the first two kids arrived they thought it'd be a funny 'prank' on my middle son to rearrange all the stuff in his room. They started doing that, moving this and that around and at one point this one kid thought he would pick up the double stacked vinly record shelf filled with records that was on my sons dresser....but when he did....the entire thing broke and fell apart and his records fell out everywhere. Then, he and the other kid just haphazardly flung/tossed them onto his bed and left it at that.
My middle son REALLY got into vinyls about two or three years ago. His music tastes are so broad and so diverse....it's really something for a 16 year old. So, he collects, gets gifted...seeks out all these albums and it's a major point of pride for him. One of which is this original print of a Beatles album (I'll have to check which one it is) that my Dad gave to him a while back. That jacket, along with about twenty others was ripped, a bunch were knicked up and torn.....he's found a few records already with chips in it and apparently.....I didn't know this.....even when the records are in the sleeves and protected they can be rubbed or hit the wrong way and the grooves can be damaged.
So, they tell me this at like 12:45am and I freaking get heated
I asked my wife to contact his parents to let them know what was going on and she was hesitant saying we could do it tomorrow. I wanted them and the kid to know immediately so I texted them and gave them a run down of the situation....and ended it with my expectation is that every damaged record will be replaced. They agreed and just asked to be told what is damaged.
The issue is now outside of the obvious physical damage to the jackets and some of the records.....he now has to listen to 40-50 of these vinyls to see if there is any skipping or scratching. Gonna take a bit.
Anyway....I am still ticked off because my son was extremely upset....he's put a lot of time and effort AND $$$ into that collection and it was just abused and not respected. It's a very, very, VERY good thing my wife knew not to make me aware of that while everyone was here because I would have not held back on my opinion and feelings about what transpired.
It's just another reason why I just don't like having large groups of people over. I'm good with a couple or two....or in the summer when everyone can hang on our patio....but, I'm just past the house full of folks. Maybe I'm an old party pooper but I'm just not a fan of it anymore.
/rant