Unintended Consequences

Reflecting upon my journey to 1000 bars I realized that I was seeing an unintended consequence of the no smoking ban that has been implemented in New York. Suddenly bars are no longer smoke filled, that is obvious. Now the are beginning to be filled with children. Apparently parents who would never expose there young ones to the second-hand smoke previously encountered now think it is perfectly acceptable to bring them to the now smoke-free establishments.

Now granted, in some places in Europe where bars are considered to be extensions of the home this has long been acceptable. But here in New York it just seems somehow wrong. Who wants to be in a bar having a beer with the guys and then have the local young mothers with kids show up. And, as usual, these mothers are so engrossed in each other and whatever it is they are talking about over their wine that they are totally oblivious to the sometimes obnoxious behavior of the young ones. Everything from just the normal bawling to the unrestrained running around and being a general pain in the ass. The worst I have seen is a baby being changed without even a thought about doing it in the ladies room. Talk about putting you off your beer.

In my opinion, if they are going to enforce the no smoking ban then they should start enforcing the "you must be 21 to enter" rule. Now I am willing to make an exception to bars that have dining facilities, but please, keep the kids in the back, not up front where the serious drinking is going on. Thankfully, a few bars in my neighborhood have risked losing some customers by banning young children from their establishments. I don't think it is asking too much to be able to drink in a child-free environment.