Hodge Podge
As I look back on my life, I can’t help but wonder how I’ve ended up here. Don’t get me wrong, I have accomplished many things in my 27 years on this planet and I am still learning, but there is so much left undone. Yet, I think of the idiot I was and the many, many past mistakes that are all too comical now, and I can’t believe the adult I turned out to be. I may not be perfect, but I survived a lot of crap; most of all, I survived my own worst enemy, myself. My mother always told me, “sometimes, you have to let go and let God”. That always seemed kind of hokey and not very much help, but maybe I should give it a try. I like to think I control my own destiny, but considering some of the messes I have gotten myself into, perhaps I should seek divine intervention! Well, enough of that. If you are still reading, you probably expect to hear some of my opinions on recent happenings. I can’t cover all the things I missed, but I will consolidate a few of them to catch you up.
I’ll start with the moron in New York suing the fast food restaurants because he’s fat. “Hey tubby, remember the old addage, ‘if it feels good, it’s bad for you'”? Since when did anyone think a whopper and fries was good for you? I can see how you’d be confused considering all health nuts that hang out at BK. Hasn’t this guy seen one of the 5 million Jared commercials Subway runs? This is why the courts are so out of control, our country is obsessed with suing each other. At least the woman who sued over her hot coffee got scalded. Maybe she couldn’t see that coming, getting fat is a progressive thing. If the guys got a mirror, he should have known. Besides, he admits his doctor told him it was bad for his health, but he didn’t believe it could be true. Here’s hoping the judge throws this guy out of court on his fat ass. Laughing at him publicly is optional.
Then there’s the dumb ass who drove his 9 month old baby to work with him and accidentally left it in the back seat for 3 1/2 hours. A co-worker noticed the child in the car and went inside to find the dad to try and rescue the boy. But, we’re not supposed to get mad at him because he “forgot” the kid was in the car. You see, it was a change in his daily routine and he feels terrible. I am sure he does, and I do feel sorry for him, but the fact remains, he is responsible for the death of a child, his own child, and just being sorry is not good enough. Stupidity is not a defense. We must stop this nationwide epidemic. It is never ok to leave your children alone in a car, not for one minute, or even one second, and certainly not for one hour.
Finally, Cleveland Municipal School District CEO, Barbara Byrd-Bennett signed a new 2 year contract last week that will increase her salary to $279,000 annually plus up to an additional 28% in possible merit bonuses, bringing her annual income to approximately $300,000 per year. I don’t dislike Ms. Bennett, in fact, I think she does a fairly good job considering the horrible state of our local schools; however, I can’t help but wonder how she can make such a large salary when our teachers who are on the front lines every day bring home less money than some of their students make flipping burgers at MacDonalds. Not to mention our school buildings are crumbling around them. I realize you have to pay a good salary to attract quality people, I just wonder why this same principal doesn’t apply to the teachers as well. We are at such a shortage in this area, they are recruiting as far away as India to fill the void. Perhaps if the jobs paid more and were more promising, you would be able to encourage students to spend $40,000+ on college tuition to become teachers and give back to their community. As it stands now, there is not just a lack of incentive, there is a lack of existing teachers to educate the children within our current system to graduate high school, much less continue on to college. Still think that raise is such a good idea?