Hey Cherie -- You missed the boat on your advice to the kid whose mother can't cook. My mother is not the greatest in the kitchen either, so I learned to cook. From the time I was 8, once a week my older brother and I made dinner. When we were young it was salad or sandwiches or really simple food -- as we got older, we got better. When I was in high school,I took over most of the cooking. Instead of trying to 'fix" Mom, he/she should take over. It'll be one of the best life-learning experiences he/she could have.

Cy - Exactly the right suggestion! Unless the child is very young, there is no reason they could not be in the kitchen.

It's a shame that some people have such a reflexive, irrational fear of guns that they don't even want their teenage child learning how to use one. The kid isn't asking his parents to buy him a weapon or even allow him to keep one in the house. He's simply asking them to allow the neighbor to teach him, and I can't think of anyone better qualified than a special forces operator like an Army Ranger. I feel sorry for right-thinking kids who are being raised by hippie parents. The kid needs to finish another year or so of high school, and then join the Army right after graduation, as he's already interested in doing. Even if he isn't able to learn to use a gun now, he can still spend some time talking to the neighbor about them and also about military life. It's a great way to learn more about both - from someone who has "been there."