Terry Foster: Sometimes Parents Don't Think Straight

By Terry Foster
The Family Deal

I do not normally recommend that people drop kick birthday cakes in the middle of a grocery store. But I sort of understand what went through the mind of Tricia Ann Kortes of Bloomfield Hills Township.

According to a story in the Birmingham Eccentric Kortes ordered a cake at the Kroger on Telegraph for her 7-year-olds birthday party. She'd ordered a Batman vs. Superman cake but did not like the way it was decorated. She went behind the counter to alter the cake herself.

Employees told her customers are not allowed behind the counter and according to witnesses she dropped kicked the cake into the air and stomped all over it. And with cake batter and icing all over her shoes she stormed out of the market.

Late she was charged and could face up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine.

I cannot confirm this but someone told me the Detroit Lions are trying to get her into mini-camp for punting competition. That cake had a hang time of 4.2 seconds.
If this story is true, Kortes appears to be a hot-headed woman who deserves our scorn and ridicule. However, she is a parent. And sometimes parents don't think straight when we believe our kids are on the short end of things.

This woman did not like the design of the cake and all she could see was a party ruined. She did not believe she got what she ordered. She thought of her kid and the party and she snapped. I don't recommend this type of behavior but I see it quite often.

I see parents snap in the soccer world. They believe their kids are being wrong by officials and they say and do things they regret. I've seen parents curse at officials. When I was a young man covering high school sports for the Detroit Free Press, a grandfather refused to leave the field because he did not like the balls and strikes calls his grandson was getting on the mound.

What a stupid fool, I thought. He was. But that was his grandson and he did not think straight.

I've had conversations about my kids and although I did not kick the cake I was surprised how hot under the collar I got. It is like a heat flash. This is my kid you are messing with.

Last weekend was tryout day for soccer and other sports and I can tell you some coach somewhere in Metro Detroit got cussed out because their kid did not make a team. It happens every year. You don't mean to get mean but things happen.

Kortes attorney said this story was overblown. But if this story is true I think I can get her in touch with the Lions. They need improved special team play.

(Foster can be reached at Terry.Foster@cbsradio.com. Twitter: TerryFoster971)