Ok. I took the kiddies out school shopping for all their supplies needed to survive the school year. Markers, crayons, spiral bound 80 and 60 page notebooks (which you cannot find either), pencil boxes, pink pearl erasers, Kleenex, wet wipes, quart size storage bags, pocket folders....yeah the list goes on and on. Yet, it was one purchase I want to discuss. The backpack.
Office Max had great deals yesterday and while I had hoped to find a backpack for my daughter elsewhere, she found a cute pink one there. I didn't pressure her to shop somewhere else because the backpack was a reasonable price AND it was 25 percent off. When I took it to the cashier I was asked "Would you like to buy the protection plan?"
"Protection plan?" I asked.
"Yes." "For an additional $2.95 you have a full year of coverage against broken zippers or if the bottom falls out of it, you can bring it back and we'll exchange it."
"Oh. So if I don't purchase the plan and the bottom falls out, I can't bring it back?"
"Well, no, not if it doesn't happen right away."
"How long do I have to bring back a crappy backpack if it falls apart?"
"I'll have to check...hold on."
So. With that the cashier pushes a button on her headset to speak with a manager.
In the meantime, I'm chatting with the woman in back of me.
"Wow. I can't believe that you have to pay extra in order to cover crappy workmanship."
The woman behind me agrees "Perhaps you should spend more money and get a better made bag."
Thinking she is correct, but not wanting to spend more than the $25.00 I was already shelling out I decided to take my chances. Looking to the cashier for an answer.
I have until September 20, 2008 for the zippers to break and the bottom to fall out of the bag in order to receive a full replacement.
Is this just a sign of the times?
I'm beginning to wonder!
Today I read in the Washington Post there are those who are proposing lowering the drinking age to prevent binge drinking. What? The problem here is not the age of the drinkers. The problem is the idea one must drink to get drunk! There are many adults who haven't figured this out and I'm sure lowering the drinking age will not solve the issue either. Why do we as a nation insist of trying to fix problems without working to find the root of the problem?
From immigration reform, healthcare issues to teenage pregnancy - the answers to all of these issues land in the root causes! Work hard to solve the problem by digging below the surface. I do not know why kids tend to binge drink. Perhaps binge drinking is the only way they understand how to drink - it is what they perceive to be cool, the only way they perceive they can have any fun, the only way to strike up a converstation with the opposite sex...you name it - there is a reason. What I do not understand is why we don't have converstations with our children about respect.
We can develop a resepct for ourselves, for the beverage, for our body, mind and spirit. We can learn moderation. We can learn self control. We can learn to respect.
I do think I should be able to let my children have a glass of wine with their pasta. I do think my children should be able to have a celebratory drink at a wedding or other special occasion. I do think I should be able to teach my children there is nothing special about alcohol - only that if you disrespect the power of the drink, you can lose everything.
We teach our children to ride bikes with helmets. We teach our children to walk across the street by looking both ways...why can't we teach our children about alcohol? Why must we treat it as if it is something forbidden? It is the way we teach that leads to the undesirable behavior.
Lower the drinking age? No. I don't think so. But take the time to teach your children...I think we should...but education is just another one of those things the general public thinks should be left to some else. That my friends is another blog entirely.
In the mean time - I'm going to test the strength of the backpack by shoving it full of everything that needs to go to school that first day. Yet...I can stop worrying about fixing the "workmanship issue" by purchasing a protection plan and while I'm spending more money to cover a product the store won't even stand behind I can only hope the drinking age will be lowered to the age of 6. Then my daughter can drown her sorrows over a ripped backpack with a case of Sam Adams and I can stand back and not take any responsibility for any of it.
Is this really the American way? Good Lord, help us all! (That is as long as I can say Good Lord).
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2 comments:
Hehehe... I just love your posts:) A couple things just to spark conversation, cause we're so good at it! :)
Your should buck the system and buy a backpack from a local store or a local tailor. They have pressure to produce superior goods to keep up happy relations with the community. Plus, unlike kids in sweatshops in China, local artists take pride in their craftsmanship. Don't support shoddy merchandise and shady outsourcing businesses... shop local or from Etsy! :)
Also, I've read that statistically, drinking ages, binge drinking rates, and other scary stories are just stories. Statistically, these issues have either stayed the same or gone down in occurrence since the 80s. Also, the USA has the strictest laws on alcohol purchase/consumption in the world, but it hasn't made us the country with the lowest drunk driving rates or other deaths caused by alcohol. A fun random fact - the US isn't in the top ten countries who consume the most alcohol.
I hope your kids are looking forward to school! Are you? Are you starting your MBA at U of M next week?
This is because getting into this activity will result harm to them and this may also affect the dream that their parents have for them. By having this training among our youth workers, the understanding and the knowledge that they will impart to your children in preventing underage alcohol use will be well-delivered. We shape the youth in the best way that they can be. We will constantly remind them of the future that their parents have worked hard for. We will give them the reason to believe in their dreams and that they will strive to achieve them.
My Youth Pro will make sure that we will make your children good citizens of the country long before they reach the right age for drinking. We will never fail to let them understand the essence of taking things in moderation or even forgetting about the things that will not do them good. We will let them look at the brighter side of life so that they will get to appreciate the things that they deserve to have in the future.
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