Rant #2,065: Crazy (Part 2)

Yes, more details are coming out about that horrific situation I talked about yesterday, where 13 children were found holed up in a house in California, in almost "dungeon-like" conditions, some chained to their beds, and all malnourished to the point that they didn't even look their ages--and the oldest kid was 29 years of age.

You can go back to yesterday's Rant to find more early details on this story, one of the most bizarre I personally have ever heard about.

Now, the grandparents have come out and talked about their grandchildren, and let me tell you, some type of mental illness runs through this family.

The paternal grandparents of the 13 kids claim that "God called on" the parents to have so many children.

They have had little contact with their son, his wife or their grandchildren, but the last time they saw the brood, at their suburban home pictured above, about four or five years ago, the children looked thin, but they appeared to be happy.

State records do show that the children were schooled via home schooling, and that the father was the supposed principal of a "private school" that he and his wife ran.

However, the "private school" was evidently not ever inspected by the state of California.

Other things have leaked out about this mysterious family and the horrific situation they lived in.

First, the son was raised as a Pentecostal, but the grandparents said that he had not attended a formal church in many years.

Later, he at least originally was a computer engineer, and had graduated Virginia Tech with a degree in that area.

When he and his wife had a family, the kids were home schooled, with a strict adherence to religion, of what church is still unknown, but evidently, one of the things they had to do was to learn, memorize and recite long passages of the Bible.

The grandparents claim they had no known friends, and the family pretty much kept to themselves.

Further, CBS News reported this morning that speaking to neighbors of the family, one woman said that when the children were asked their names, they were told that they were not allowed to give them out.

The grandparents are not charged with any crime, other than being absolutely clueless, which, of course is not a crime.

But it is a "crime" that they didn't apparently take much of an interest in their son or his family, although they did say they spoke to him over the phone on a fairly regular basis, once or twice a month.

Again, I am sure plenty more is going to come out about this family and the cruelty the parents inflicted on their children.

When did the parents snap? What else went on in that house that nobody knew about?

And maybe most importantly, where was the State of California in this mess? Why were they so negligent in their duties? Why did they never conduct an inspection of the alleged school?

And what of the children? CBS reported this morning that the children seemed to be very friendly when they were spoken to by the authorities, but you have to wonder about their inner workings, and the toll this type of behavior took on them.

Time will tell.

I have to do something tomorrow morning that will prevent me from writing a new entry to this blog, so I will speak to you again on Friday.