Thursday, December 8, 2016

In which Primo and I disagree about whether to buy candy from a kid raising money for his eighth-grade class trip to Denmark

1. We live in an affluent area. Not a Mercedes or a BMW in every garage area, but a mostly new cars, kids who can get braces, and families who go on vacation to a place, like Disney or the beach, for spring break rather than the kids just not going to school for a week, which is how spring break worked when I was a kid.

2. Other proof of affluence: We have lived in this house for eight years. Not once - not ONCE - has a kid knocked on my door and offered to shovel my sidewalk or cut my grass for money. I sold handmade doll clothes door to door when I was 11. When I was nine, a friend and I went door to door offering to sweep peoples' stoops and sidewalks for a dime. In my day (Hey! You! Get off my lawn!), that was how kids got money - by working.

3. We already pay pretty high property taxes, which I guess I can live with because we get great services in our town (I love our library and get way more out of it than I have ever spent in property taxes) and the school district is one of the best in the state. Even though Primo and I do not have children, we care about the quality of the schools because someday, we will need to sell our house and because someday, we need these kids to get good jobs and pay into social security so we can retire.

4. I am usually very reluctant to buy overpriced product for a school fundraiser anyhow, although I will make exceptions for things like new band uniforms or books for the library for a school in a poor district. Also, I will buy Girl Scout cookies from any girl who has the guts to come to my door, ring the bell, and ask me to buy. I will not, however, buy from their parents. Parents! Let your kids sell their own cookies! Or, better yet, rebel against the tyranny of that kind of fundraiser and have a car wash instead.

5. Eighth grade trip? An eighth-grade trip? When did that become a Thing?

6. TO DENMARK?

No. Just - no.

Primo: But I wanted a Kit Kat bar. If they had had only Reese's Peanut Butter cups, I would not have bought anything.

3 comments:

  1. I'll join you on the Grouchy Bench. A kid at church asked for contributions for his class trip to Greece. Um, I haven't been to Greece, so why should I pay for a 16 year old to go?? But we are suckers for Girl Scouts selling cookies or Cub Scouts selling popcorn. . . .

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  2. I'm with you on the eighth grade trip, I really am. (I mean, if it was the French Club going to Marseilles, that would be one thing, but the entire eighth grade? Just because? Pfft.)

    Only...

    Primo wanted a Kit Kat bar, and an opportunity to buy one, at very little inconvenience to himself and none at all to you, was presented. Now, would you have him cut off his nose to spite his face? Next year, tell the kids to sell Reese's and you won't have to worry about it.

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  3. Catherine from CanadaSaturday, December 10, 2016

    Sheesh. That's ridiculous.
    I went to Switzerland in Grade Eight. But we were living in Liverpool at the time. It was an overnight bus ride away.

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