A future where....

The other day I experienced "a first". We decided after our weekly ritual of Saturday night Chipottle to have Cold Stone Ice Cream with the kids to celebrate the end of summer. We have done this routine before where I run in (by myself....coping skills we've learned due to our youngest's antics!). I promptly ordered our "usual" ice cream selection to a teenage boy who seemed nice enough. Before he finished my order I saw him grab his hip. What was this? Was he ailing from some early onset of arthritis... no... no... he was answering his cellphone. Ugh..I thought to myself. I can't believe he would even answer it! Of course he'll breathe quietly into the phone "I'll call ya back" but NO he said "HE DUDE!!" and proceeded to have a "text messaged sounding" gutteral conversation with his friend while filling my order! I was, to say the least, SHOCKED!! I sat with my mouth open hoping that another customer would come so we could have our mouths open together. He walked me to the cash register, still on his phone, and I loudly said to him "I need four spoons please!". "sure.." he said, interuppting his conversation with his friend. I cannot tell you my disbelief. He was having a very animated "no it really is Frankenstien dude, you're not losing your mind!! laugh laugh... more weird talk!" all while I was his customer. I walked out of the store in a daze. Had I dreamt this? Was this what we were teaching or allowing our teenagers...our children that communication with peers takes priority over everything else? Were we teaching them that as long as they don't get caught "it's ok?". Character...."Who you are when no one is looking" has lost it's value in our culture. I had been waited on by a teenager on his cellphone who CLEARLY did not have any remorse or embarrassment or even AWARENESS of his "bad choice". OH LORD teach me to teach my kids!!!!! Let them flow counter-culturally with solid character!