Nobody Asked Me…

Day three with grandson Jace, and we’re still doing okay…

The boy is quite the bug killer, and got a bit ticked when his waffle stompers caused him to miss some of the bugs. Soooo… He got sticks and went after them with that!

BUT… I made a mistake… I bought a cheep train set, just to keep him occupied.

And made the second mistake of putting batteries in it!!! Had to, to make the train actually run, but I never should have in the ‘station’ part. Annoying does NOT begin to describe the whistles, honks and assorted screechings coming out of that piece.

It’s battery WILL die tomorrow morning… Just sayin’…

In other news, there’s a park just down the street, so every time we turn around it’s, “Park? Park?  Go park now?” And at 2 1/2, he’s still fearless!!! Sigh.

I’m hoping I survive until Tuesday! 🙂

If you’re an old fart, you’ll remember how ‘we’ grew up…

By today’s standards, none of us were supposed to ever make it.

HIGH SCHOOL —  1957  vs  2016

Scenario 1:

Jack goes duck hunting before school and then pulls into the school parking lot with his shotgun in his truck’s gun rack.

1957 –  Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack’s shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.

2016 –  School goes into lock down, FBI called,  Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again.  Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.

Scenario 2:

Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.

1957 –  Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.

2016 –  Police called and SWAT team arrives — they arrest both Johnny and Mark.   They are both charged with assault and both expelled – even though Johnny started it .

Scenario 3:

Jeffrey will not be in class, he disrupts other students.

1957 –  Jeffrey sent to the Principal’s office and given a good paddling by the Principal.  He then returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.

2016 –  Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin.  He becomes a zombie.  He is then tested for ADD.  The family gets extra money (SSI) from the government because Jeffrey has a disability.

Scenario 4:

Billy breaks a window in his neighbor’s car and his Dad gives him a whipping. 

1957 –  Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college and  becomes a successful businessman.

2016 –  Billy’s dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy is removed to foster care and joins a gang.  The state psychologist is told by Billy’s sister that she remembers being spanked herselfand their dad goes to prison.  Billy’s mom has an affair with the psychologist.

Scenario 5:

Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.

1957 –  Mark shares his aspirin with the Principal out on the smoking dock .

2016 –  The police are called and Mark is expelled from school for drug violations.  His car is then searched for drugs and weapons.

Scenario 6:

Pedro fails high school English.

1957 –  Pedro goes to summer school, passes English and goes to college.

2016 –  Pedro’s cause is taken up by a radical group.   Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement forgraduation is racist.  ACLU files a class action lawsuit against the state school system and Pedro’s English teacher.  English is then banned from the basic curriculum.  Pedro is given his diploma anyway, but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.

Scenario 7:

Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the Fourth of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up a red ant bed..

1957 –  Ants die.

2016 –  ATF, Homeland Security and the FBI are all called.  Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism.   The FBI investigates his parents – and all siblings are removed from their home. All computers are confiscated.  Johnny’s dad is placed on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

Scenario 8:

Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee ..   He is found crying by his teacher, Mary.  Mary hugs him to comfort him.

1957   – In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.

2016  – Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job.  She faces 3 years in State Prison.  Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.

Sarah Hoyt put a post up last Friday that reminded me of something I did back in the late 80s…

As Sarah said, there are ‘many’ who care more about the labels on the clothes to show their status within their peer group, than the actual clothes themselves. It was either September or October of ’88, and I got stuck with a trip to South Korea to coordinate some exercise stuff with them.

Now at the time, we all knew about the ‘good deal’ buys around Seoul for various things from clothes to sweaters to shoes (Reebock and Adidas come to mind). At the time these weren’t knock off’s per se, but ‘overruns’ from orders made by middlemen in the US for various cooperations…

Since the kids were little, they tended to go through things like sweaters, jackets and shoes in a BIG hurry. They either wore them out, or outgrew them in what seemed like a matter of days…

Anyhoo, I got to talking with a ROK Navy Commander, and asked him where he would recommend I go. Since we were off the next day, he offered to take me to a few places. I gratefully accepted and EARLY (like 0600 early), he picked me up and off we went. He drove for probably close to an hour, and we finally pulled up in front of a large unmarked building somewhere south of Seoul.

Getting out, he escorted me into a shabby office on one corner of the building, and after a good five minutes of back and forth in Korean, with the occasional question to me about sizes (I was trying to buy the size the girls were, and the next larger size too), which apparently confused the hell out of them.

I was finally led to a storage room and pointed to a table with probably 100 sweaters laid out on it, and told to pick the ones I wanted. Since the girls didn’t like the same colors, I was able to finally pick two designs, and brought them over to the manager. He rattled off some directions to an assistant, and within a couple of minutes, two of each sweater showed up.

I figured it was a done deal at that point, and asked the CDR how much I owed for the four sweaters. He had another back and forth, and I was led to another room filled with women and sewing machines. He opened a sample book, and it was full of labels!

Sears, Pennys, Lord & Taylor, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, etc! Being from the southwest, I went with Neiman Marcus labels just for the hell of it. A few minutes later, the sweaters were brought back, now with the ‘correct’ labels sewn in.

If I remember correctly, I paid $32 for all four sweaters.

The CDR next took me to a warehouse that had Reebock tennis shoes, and I bought four pairs of leather tennis shoes for the kids, and paid around $16 for them. (I remember I had around $60 on me, and I came back with money).

Fast forward to Christmas, I got curious and hit some of the stores in SFO looking for the sweaters.  I found them in every store!!! With prices ranging from the low $30 range in Sears and Pennys, to $125 or so in Macy’s and Lord & Taylor. I never did find out what Neiman Marcus sold theirs for, but I’d guess something over $150!

For the SAME sweaters I’d paid $8 for in Korea!!! My ex was deathly afraid the sweaters would get stolen after one of the other mothers apparently asked how the girls could afford Neiman Marcus… So I think they maybe got to wear them 5-6 times before they outgrew them…

Sigh…

The next year I got Icelandic wool sweaters, with no labels… And the kids wore the hell out of them without a question ever being asked…