I was watching the news the other day, and was shocked to see what it costs to send a child to school these days. On average, a grade school student requires $474 per year, a middle school student will need $545 in supplies, and a high school student will cost you $1,000! This is just to go to a school that you pay state and local taxes to attend! I have to admit, we couldn't afford to send our two children to school these days! How did this get to be so expensive? I'm still amazed that class trips end up going to foreign countries for a week or more, and parents have the money to pay for their child to go along. Is it that they can afford it, or do they do this on credit, paying it back over time?
Life was different when I was growing up. There was no list of items that the school system demanded you have. We would take a family trip to the Ben Franklin 5 & and 10 to buy our one folder for 10 cents, a pad of notebook paper, a notebook (if we ruined the one we had the year before), a box of 12 crayons, pencils, an eraser, and a fountain pen. That was it! We would get 1 pair of tennis shoes (the "high tops" were more expensive, so we didn't get them), and perhaps a couple of pairs of pants. All other clothes were home made, or hand-me-downs, often times from neighbors and relatives. We walked to school, and home for lunch, no matter what the weather was, no buses, nor "Mom Taxis". Kindergarten was a private school, that cost more than we could afford so we went right to First Grade.
By about 5th grade, the school decided to start a band. While we were dieing to join and learn to play music, it was just too expensive, a ridiculous cost of $4 a week!
Still, we didn't feel underprivileged in any way. While we were poorer than most of our classmates, we didn't really feel left out. It wasn't until High School that we began to feel excluded. Our school was in a different town, populated by many more affluent families, as well as the surrounding towns. I remember just how out of place I felt on my first day of school! Most of my classmates had lived in the city, and seen things I had never even imagined existed. They wore new expensive clothes, while I wore hand-me-downs, some kids even had a transistor radio! Such things were clearly out of our reach!
However, we got an education, and prepared for life as an adult. We learned the value of hard work to reach our goals, and how to behave in a public environment. The school, and our parent's tax dollars, paid for most, if not all, of the required classroom supplies.
So what has happened to education? What on earth would cost a thousand dollar out of pocket expense to attend a public high school? Has the world gone crazy? And what of the parents who can't afford this cost? Will children be banned from the school because their parents can't afford a new laptop computer each year? Thankfully, there are groups to help the less than fortunate families to get supplies.
Still, one has to question the cost of the whole thing. It seems to be all about the money, as always. A school is an economic engine, not a place of education!
Shop 'till you drop, and charge it if you don't have the cash. And no, we will not teach your child to write in cursive!
Sad, isn't it?
©2012 Ornery Arkie Productions. All rights reserved
This past week, we learned of the passing of one of our generation's icons: Andy Griffith. Griffith was best known for his television series depicting life in a rural Southern town called Mayberry. Andy played the sheriff of the town, who had to dispense not only justice, but infuse the townsfolk with his wisdom.
The town was inhabited by dozens of quirky characters, who all, at some point, benefited from Griffith's common sense and understanding.
Since his death came during an election year, and since some of the dumbest things I've ever seen are going on in politics, I wonder what would happen if those two far apart worlds were suddenly thrown together.....
Rod Serling introduces tonight's episode, where the present meets the past.....
Cue the theme song!
The show opens with Deputy Barney Fife chasing down a limousine on a dusty country road. Light flashing, and siren blaring, Fife pulls behind the offender, who finally slows to a stop.
Fife: "Step out of the car, feller!" "Right now!"
Mitt Romney exits the limo with his hands in the air. He is dressed in an expensive suit, with a gold watch on his wrist.
Mitt: "Is there a problem deputy?"
Fife: "You're darned right there's a problem!"
Fife: "You were doing twice the speed limit back there!"
Mitt: "Well I'm very sorry officer, I was on my way to Washington DC. I'm running for president, you know."
Fife: "Really? Well then I'm Cleopatra!! Get in the back of the squad car!"
The scene fades with the patrol car driving off in a cloud of dust.
Now the camera pans Mayberry's main street, stopping in front of the jail. The squad car slides to a stop, lights and siren still going. Fife bursts into the office surprising Andy, who is doing paperwork at his desk.
Fife: "We've got us a law breakin' speeder, Anj!"
Andy looks up to see Mitt in handcuffs standing before him, with Barney eying him suspiciously.
Andy: "Well I dooo declare, what have we got here, Barn?"
Fife: "He says he's a runnin' for President, Anj, and he's headed for Washington!"
Andy: "Well 'scuse me mister, but with that suit on, you look more like you're fixin' to run for undertaker!"
The courtroom door bursts open, and Andy's son Opie enters.
Opie: "Paw, who ya got there?"
Andy: "His name's Mitt, son."
Opie: "You mean like a catcher's mitt, or a first baseman's mitt? I reckin he could have been named after some other sport. Heck, paw, he could have been called "Hockey Puck"!
Andy: "No son, that was the last president!"
Andy: "Put him in the cell with Otis, Barn, until I can sort this all out."
Barney takes the handcuffs off Romney, and locks him in the cell with the town drunk, Otis Campbell.
Otis: "Am I dead? Andy, help me, the undertaker's here!!!"
Andy: "Naw, you ain't dead Otis, this here's Mr. Romney, and he's fixin' to run for presi-dent!"
Otis: "What happened to Eisenhower?"
Mitt: "You know sheriff, you have a 4 cell jail with only one cell utilized. It's a waste of resources! If I were you, I'd hire a corporation to come in and run things!" "They would pay you money for the prisoners they housed. All you would have to do is just arrest a certain number of offenders per week in order to get paid."
Andy: "What, I have to arrest innocent people?"
Mitt: "It's all business, sheriff. As long as the corporation makes money, everyone benefits." "Besides, corporations are people!"
The door opens, and in walks Aunt Bea with a freshly baked cherry pie.
Bea: "Oh dear; Andy, there's an undertaker in the cell with Otis. Is Otis dead??"
Andy: "Naw Ain't Bea, this here's Mr. Mitt, and he's telling me how to make money off our prisoners." "He says we need to have more!"
Bea: "But Andy, you only have Otis as a regular prisoner, where would you get the rest?"
Andy looks at the empty jail cells, and then at Aunt Bea............
Andy: "Well Ain't Bea, I might have to book you in to keep up our revi-new!"
Aunt Bea drops the pie, and runs out of the courthouse.
Andy: "Well Mr. Mitt, you have shore upset Ain't Bea with your idea! Is that what you're fixin to do if you get to be presi-dent?" "You know, if corporations are people, serial killers are people too. I wouldn't want to live near nether one!"
Mitt: "It's good for business, good for the economy, and good for the corporation, sheriff. If a company took over, you could even retire..... without pay, of course." "The company would patrol the streets, arresting offenders, and trumping up charges if need be. As long as the jail is full, the company would make a profit."
Andy: "Well, If I don't get paid to retire, than what becomes of me?" "I'll be penniless!"
Mitt looks over at the empty cells smirking...
Mitt: "Well sheriff...."
Andy: "No suh! I'm the sheriff, not some vagrant!" "You sure don't know what life is like here. We' sure don't need no corporation running things! We're happy just as we are!" "Let me finish your paperwork, and Barney will take you to the edge of town and drop you off. I don't want to see you, or you cor-po-ration anywhere near these parts!"
Mitt pays his fine, and Barney loads him back into the squad car. The squad pulls away from the courthouse with tires squealing.
Opie: "That man sure is strange, paw! I reckon if he gets to be president, we're all gonna be in trouble!" "I sure don't want to be some corporation!"
Andy: "Don't worry son, I told Barney to drop him off at the edge of town. I just didn't say which town!"
The scene fades out, while a far off shot of the Mayberry squad car fades in. It's snowing heavily as Barney opens the rear door.
Barney: "Well here you go, Mr. corporation, welcome to Timbuktu. Now get out and get lost!"
The show ends with Mitt standing in a snow drift trying to get a signal on his cell phone, while Andy, Barney, Aunt Bea, and Opie share that Cherry pie with Otis.
Andy: "I sure hope them corporate raiders never take over America! What a mess we would be in if they did!"
Otis: "I'll drink to that!"
Fade out......
R. I. P. Andy Griffith, we will sure miss you!
© 2012 Ornery Arkie Productions All rights reserved
As we get older, we find less that we're willing to tolerate. The fact that we've lived a long life, means we've seen things, or been subjected to things, that the younger set hasn't. We spent our whole lives with a number of pet-peeves, and they tend to increase by the day. Of course, the ones that we started with, remain with us.
My biggest piss-off is ties. The simple fact that knotting a rag around one's neck is thought to make them a professional is just plain crazy. I realize, that in the 1800's, men wore cravats (ties) as part of their every day dress. It was more of a fashion requirement, than a fashion statement. As time progressed, the tie became part of "business attire". How silly! Wearing a tie, didn't make you a better worker, a more intelligent being, nor more honest. It simply meant that you had "knuckled under" and towed the company line.
As time rolled on, the suit and tie became part of our culture. In the 1970's we had suits so huge, that a person could walk across a room, and the suit would still stay there he started. What a great advertisement for a business! "Buy from us...I'm wearing a suit and tie!" Looking back, the whole thing seems rather stupid..
By the 1980's, a tie was a regular item of business attire. It was thought that a tie made one look "Professional", sort of like fishnets make a hooker look like a pro.
The slimy, greaseballs who tried to sell you things, always wore ties. A white shirt and tie meant that a person was an honest businessman, who would never cheat you. After all, he was wearing a TIE!
Women, never had to suffer this scourge. They had a more generous choice of clothing, but on the other hand, they failed to receive the pay men did. I suppose it was their punishment for not towing the line...
Fast forward to today! We now have "Power Ties" for the elitists. Can one charge one's cell phone off a power tie? Nope, didn't think so!
The idea that now, some sweaty greaseball holds you as a hostage, controlled by your collar and tie, much like a collar and leash, is appalling. We the people deserve better. We are not slaves, we are not subject to our bosses whims. A tie does not make a person any more honest, nor any more productive. A shirt and tie are worn to impress a customer, while the wearer cleans out your bank account.
I would rather deal with a person in a T-Shirt and Jeans, than a slick guy wearing a shirt and tie. Business attire is like a mask, where perpetrators can hide behind. If a person wears what they want, it's easier to see what that person is all about.
Casual dress, brings out the real person. There's no pretense, no phony persona, just the person behind the clothing.
Why isn't there a revolt among the worker bees? Stand up and renounce your corporate allegiance! I guess that that collar and leash are a bit too tight, and if you don't perform.........
Many long years ago, I was a Senior in High School. The term "Senior" meant that you had reached the point where you were ready to go off into the world, and make your mark, leave your legacy, or at least get a job and subsist. You were considered special, someone to be looked up to by the underclassmen. A Senior had successfully navigated the high school curriculum. You had Senior Proms, Senior cut days, and other perks, because you earned them. You only had a one year stint as a Senior, unless you couldn't get enough credits to graduate. After graduation, you either went on to college, or entered the work force.
Life passed, and many of us raised our own Seniors, and watched with pride as they too, entered adulthood. As a parent, one could again relive those years long ago.
Sadly, there's a second time in life one turns a Senior. There's no bragging rights in this version. After the age of 50, you are eligible to join the AARP, an organization for Seniors. Instead of proms, and bragging rights, there's pity.
You are a burden if you're still working, blocking the younger set from advancement, by still being on the job. In many jobs, the senior man receives higher pay than the newer employees, as pay scales tend to go down these days. Your wisdom, and clear thinking are a threat to those new folks in the workforce. They want you retired, so they can get your job!
Quite a Senior perk, isn't it? As you age even more, you are looked upon as an entity to be exploited, not exulted. There are a myriad of "Senior friendly" products marketed towards you. The general idea is that somehow, after making your mark on society, you used up all your intelligence, and have now become a doddering old fool. You need a special cell phone, because the one's the young folks have are just too complicated for your rusty old brain. Or there are super simple computers offered to Seniors, which don't require any knowledge to operate. "Keep it simple, and charge more, because they're old and don't know any better!"
The idea that you were smart enough to hang on to your money through life is the basis for this.
Aging makes you a prime target for the health care industry as well. One trip to the doctor after age 55 or so, will result in an endless list of tests, pills, and more doctor visits. You become a cash cow for the medical profession, all in the name of keeping you alive for a few more years, so they can take more money from you. Even Medicare can't keep them from your savings, as they prescribe things that aren't covered. MRI's, CAT scans, power chairs, and those $20,000 bathtubs with the doors in the side, are all either offered, or prescribed. Your "Golden Years" have made you the goose that laid the golden egg!
Scammers too appreciate you. You are the target of various cons to give up money, or personal information. There have been may seniors who have lost thousands of dollars due to these vermin preying on the elderly.
Retirement, if you can still do it, is no longer fun in the sun, it's fretting over paying for your sub-standard life style. Social Security payments barely cover the cost of living, and you are fearful every day that the legislative asswads in Washington, will take that away too!
There isn't much we can do about this sad state of affairs, except to not accept it. Why must we follow along like sheep? Let's get out there and act up like we did when we were young. Let's show the vultures that we ain't done yet, that we still have a fire burning inside us! The ultimate graduation for folks our age ain't a pretty one, so let's not go too soon. If you are told you are too old to do something, DO IT! If you are told not to eat or drink something, do it anyway. Stand up for yourselves as the Senior Class should do, for there still is one last person after your money when you go; The undertaker.
Make him wait!
With all the excesses in today's world, nothing is more blatant than our laws. We have thousands of laws, and there are millions of words spent defining them. What ever happened to a simple "NO, don't do that"? Imagine if our parents had to read us our rights before they gave us a spanking for breaking the neighbor's window. On the other hand, suppose we children could have gotten legal council before the the first smack of the belt? Our parents would have been so tied up in cases, we'd be in our 30's before our parents could have punished us. Do laws have to be written so complicated that there are gray areas?
I suppose it's how lawyers make their money. If you charge by the hour, getting through all the documents and precedents before even going before a judge will earn you a ton of cash.
Why does our system have to be like that? Can't we just say "NO" and be done with it? You wouldn't need a lawyer at all. If caught doing something wrong, you go before a judge immediately, and get the prescribed punishment. Simple, isn't it?
Another thing that confuses me is how a person can plead "not guilty" when caught red-handed while breaking the law. How can you be not guilty when you did it? Take your punishment, and let's get to the next case! And better yet, how can a person plead not guilty because of insanity? Do only sane people commit crimes? Lawyer: "My client is not guilty because he's nuckin' futs." Judge: "OK you're free, crazy, but free." Lovely, isn't it?
It's time we change the laws, simplify them, even for the simple minded. No means no, don't means do not. Defy this and your in trouble! We would simplify the legal system, speed up justice, and save millions of dollars a year!
And another thing; let's drop all this liability crap! If you buy a pencil and poke your eye out, you can sue the maker because there wasn't a warning label on it saying "Don't poke yourself in the eye, dummy". This is beyond stupid. If people can't be trusted, misuse products, or fail to see the obvious, then they shouldn't be able to sue over it. It becomes a cash cow for the lawyers, as they get a piece of the action, as well as the litigants. I know one person, who used to brag about new cars, or fun vacations, made possible by suing someone. Is this right? I would hate to think the world is this corrupt, but I know better.
Some day, someone will finally say "enough is enough", and make some changes to simplify things, and immediately be sued because there wasn't a Spanish translation. Face it, we're all screwed!
The 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic is upon us. She sailed from Southampton England en route to the United States, carrying 2,224 passengers on her maiden voyage. Obviously her owners, the White Star Line, didn't know that "RMS" stood for "really might sink"!
On the night of April 15, 1912, she sailed into history by striking an iceberg, tearing a hole in her hull, and sinking. This opulent testimony to human engineering took with her over 1000 passengers on her trip to the bottom, with only 710 people surviving this tragedy.
At the time, this was thought to be the greatest disaster known to man.
So why are we celebrating it?
We have traveling Titanic exhibits, Titanic museums, and the whole gruesome wreck has been made into a movie, and in turn, that movie has been made into a 3-D movie! This terrible loss of human life is being commemorated as a wonderful celebration, and the frenzy is building as we reach the day of the disaster.
Are humans really that jaded? Must we merchandise the tragedy? There are Titanic tours, Titanic museums, Titanic dinnerware sets, DVD's, and even copies of things in the movie. Tragedy sells!
As a service to all the investors out there, I have come up with some new disasters they might want to market, and exploit!
"The Love Canal Experience" would be the first one. A theme park could be built, and guests could learn of the sickness suffered by the residents of the town due to the dumping of toxins by the Hooker Chemical Company. Guests could enjoy toxic Slurpees, while they watch their skin develop strange sores, and later, walk through the re-created abandoned town.
"Chernobyl Revisited" would be a fun trip through a nuclear disaster, where guests wear glow-stick vests, allowing them to glow in the dark, just like the Russian victims! Later, they visit a petting zoo, where actual wildlife that survived the disaster, are there to be admired. Those three headed cats are soo cute!
"Pop Goes the Challenger" would be a theme-park comemmorating the Challenger disaster.
Guests would strap into a re-creation of the space shuttle, and then get blown to bits (via green screen) and rain down on Texas! What fun!
I've saved the best disaster for last:
"Eight Years of George Bush" would be a theme park where only people with a low enough IQ would be allowed to actually enter. Other guests would watch through one way glass at the fun going on within! Then everyone gets to watch the economy sour, and help make the decision to invade the wrong country. Guests could actually re-create some of the war crimes that Bush was famous for, and order airstrikes on the not-so-intellegent below. Then, as a finale, everyone could watch their savings, retirement, hopes, and dreams, get trashed by the Wall Street debacle!
Folks, this one's a winner! Price the tickets below $20, and the world will beat a path to our door! I just hope we have a country left, when the 100 year anniversary rolls around!
The world is full of miscreants, thieves and other less than savory types. We have been told since early childhood, that we must work hard to be successful. Lately, Donald Trump, "The Donald" has been held up to us as an "ideal". Yes he appears to have a ton of money, and attracts the beautiful people, despite that weird hair, but is he really what he seems?
It is amazing how many people declare bankruptcy these days. It's an easy process where you can hire a lawyer, go before a judge, and get out of whatever debt you have racked up. Isn't that convenient? You can do what ever you want and never face the consequences. It's soooo easy! Trump's companies have declared bankruptcy 4 times, according to records. As a man who makes huge deals, I must wonder just how much he stiffed his creditors. Is this a role model for the rest of us? Has honesty been replaced by profits at all costs?
I remember being taught that if you want something, you have to save for it in order to get it. There was no instant gratification involved. You had to wait until you had the funds. As time passed, the world became a credit-oriented society, and you bought today, and paid tomorrow. That was still fine, as long as you settled your debts. The new way of doing things is doing nothing. Run up a mountain of bills, ignore them, and then be forgiven them by the court. Then, you can start over again! Isn't this thievery? It's almost like you are immune to paying things back, and pity the people you owe!
"I owe, I owe, so off to work I go" no longer takes precedence. Live the good life and don't pay, and you can keep it up as long as you can afford a lawyer. Oddly enough, you must pay the lawyer, before he helps you to stiff the other creditors!
This is just plain robbery! If you can't afford things, don't buy them. If you run up credit card bills beyond what you earn, then stop buying until you get them paid off. Put yourself in the shoes of those you owe. Could you survive as a business, if people kept finding a way to avoid paying you?
No, "The Donald" sure isn't a role model, he's more of a bad example. When we shirk our responsibilities as consumers, and use the law to get out of them, it makes us no better than common thieves. Only "The Donald" and his bad comb over can get away with that!
