We Don't Need No Education
The school referendum failed yesterday by a 2-1 margin. At work, we have a running joke when we encounter someone of below-average intelligence. We say "Just think, this person votes." Well, those folks were out in force Tuesday.
We clearly have a double standard in this society. I think everyone agrees that our kids' education should be a priority. Politicians preach it and everyone goes, "Rah-rah" in agreement... until it is time to put one's money where one's mouth is. Education is not free.
So this means there will be cuts galore in our school district. Music and fine art teachers might as well start preparing their resumes, but I doubt administration will volunteer a cut in pay for the benefit of retaining a teacher or two. And I am willing to bet the football coach's job is secure. Brainerd has made it to the state playoffs, and everyone loves a winner, right?
This also means even more kids will never learn how to spell or put together a comprehensible sentence. More kids will never learn who Nathan Hale or Thomas Paine is... unless they are professional basketball players. More kids will never learn the difference between a quarter note and a foot note. Believe it or not, these things are important. At least I think they are.
But this is the world we live in.
Things are finally moving along on the camper front. The adjuster did come out on Tuesday morning. He took a quick look, took a quick picture and, to my surprise, said, "Yep, you need a new top, don't you?" He went ahead and authorized the estimate for $3200.
We heard from our claims person today. She can't send us the entire amount because we still have a lein on the camper (we just bought it 20 months ago), but she can send the entire amount to Lewie's RV, so we said to go ahead and do that. We then called Lewie's and told them what was going on, and they seemed to understand... I doubt I am their first customer with an insurance claim... but I have learned over the years not to trust anyone, because it seems like nobody can do their job correctly anymore. So I am going to go to Lewie's next Wednesday and make sure they got the check from State Farm and make sure the top assembly gets ordered that day. Then it is a 2-3 week wait for it to come in. In other words, I hope to get the camper in by the beginning of December. That's going to be a cold trip and I'm not looking forward to it, but it is Perspective Time: life could be a whole lot worse.
Oh, and here's the kicker: after the adjuster left, I was packing in the camper and I broke a latch to the front cargo area. I'm not sure if it was too cold (it was about 35 degrees) or if it just wasn't lined-up properly, but the latch snapped like a toothpick. It was made of "heavy duty plastic" which is a fancy way of saying that it will still break, just not quite as easily as normal plastic. So now I've got to order a part for that too. Man, my frickin' camper is just falling to pieces. The way I am replacinging parts, by the time next spring roles around, I will have a brand new camper!
We clearly have a double standard in this society. I think everyone agrees that our kids' education should be a priority. Politicians preach it and everyone goes, "Rah-rah" in agreement... until it is time to put one's money where one's mouth is. Education is not free.
So this means there will be cuts galore in our school district. Music and fine art teachers might as well start preparing their resumes, but I doubt administration will volunteer a cut in pay for the benefit of retaining a teacher or two. And I am willing to bet the football coach's job is secure. Brainerd has made it to the state playoffs, and everyone loves a winner, right?
This also means even more kids will never learn how to spell or put together a comprehensible sentence. More kids will never learn who Nathan Hale or Thomas Paine is... unless they are professional basketball players. More kids will never learn the difference between a quarter note and a foot note. Believe it or not, these things are important. At least I think they are.
But this is the world we live in.
Things are finally moving along on the camper front. The adjuster did come out on Tuesday morning. He took a quick look, took a quick picture and, to my surprise, said, "Yep, you need a new top, don't you?" He went ahead and authorized the estimate for $3200.
We heard from our claims person today. She can't send us the entire amount because we still have a lein on the camper (we just bought it 20 months ago), but she can send the entire amount to Lewie's RV, so we said to go ahead and do that. We then called Lewie's and told them what was going on, and they seemed to understand... I doubt I am their first customer with an insurance claim... but I have learned over the years not to trust anyone, because it seems like nobody can do their job correctly anymore. So I am going to go to Lewie's next Wednesday and make sure they got the check from State Farm and make sure the top assembly gets ordered that day. Then it is a 2-3 week wait for it to come in. In other words, I hope to get the camper in by the beginning of December. That's going to be a cold trip and I'm not looking forward to it, but it is Perspective Time: life could be a whole lot worse.
Oh, and here's the kicker: after the adjuster left, I was packing in the camper and I broke a latch to the front cargo area. I'm not sure if it was too cold (it was about 35 degrees) or if it just wasn't lined-up properly, but the latch snapped like a toothpick. It was made of "heavy duty plastic" which is a fancy way of saying that it will still break, just not quite as easily as normal plastic. So now I've got to order a part for that too. Man, my frickin' camper is just falling to pieces. The way I am replacinging parts, by the time next spring roles around, I will have a brand new camper!
