Bitching with Dusio: Saturday, in the park, I think it was August Eighteen

Bitching with Dusio

The rantings, ravings and musings of a now mid-forties american male. Sex, violence, rock-n-roll. Also, emotions and all that other mushy crap.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Saturday, in the park, I think it was August Eighteen

Yeah, it's a dumb title, so sue me. I like the pic, though. Caught my eye. Get it? Eye? I'm full of dumb lines today.

I've decided I'm going to stop talking about my lack of work and congruent depression. I need to move on. Truth is the stress I had at that job would have killed me eventually. At least working for Mr. McCokeNose. My BP was through the roof. Que sera sera.

So let me tell you about a typical day in the life of an unemployed father of three. I wake up about 7am. I make coffee, get on the computer a bit and browse the news. Around 8, I take my oldest to tennis practice.
Let me talk about her tennis for a minute. She goes to a public high school. It's a good public school, gets good ratings and the test scores are high. The principal is a real over-achiever. But we don't live in an area that is too affluent. It's, at best, working class. So the other day she has a match against Bishop Hartley. Now, I'm not cracking on Catholic Schools, my other two daughters go to them. But the girls on my daughters team are black, white, latino, asian, all the colors of the rainbow. And since they don't go to a rich school, their uniforms are a school t-shirt and mesh shorts. Well, the girls from Hartley roll up in their parents cars, which are all big fancy SUV's and the like. They get out and they all look like Anna Kournikova. They have fancy tennis dresses. They're all thin and blond and wearing makeup. Maybe I'm the only one who felt it, but I felt bad for my daughter's team. I mean, there are only about 12 girls on her team and they deserve nice uniforms, too. It's such a huge disparity between schools with money and schools without. I noticed it some last year when they played the suburb teams, also. It's sad. I think the school funding system sucks. Every kid, rich or poor, deserves to go to a school that is a palace. Teachers need to make more money so we will get more people interested becoming them. It sickens me that we spend so much money on defense and pointless pet projects and our public schools are crumbling. Maybe I'm part of the problem by sending two of my kids to Catholic school, but the schools they would have gone to are failing and are in despicable shape.
I see the tax breaks they give to corporations and it is infuriating. I think if a corporation wants something they should have to do something public minded to get it.
I apologize for my rant. I am at heart, a liberal, damn near a socialist, and most importantly, a parent. I swear if I had an extra $500 I'd buy those girls new uniforms.

Anyways, on with my day. After I take her to practice, I come home, do some internet job searching. Play with my 5 year old some. Then, we pick up the oldest from tennis. After that, the days vary. I usually do somethings around the house, maybe do some grocery shopping, etc. The S.O. has been working extra shifts to make up for my lack of work. So I'm making dinners. I've been trying some new recipes I've found in magazines. Gotta keep myself going somehow. After that it's pretty generic. Hanging out at home, waiting for the S.O. to get home, then bed.

My life is a wild ride, eh? I know, how do I do it.

Day by day, brother, day by day.

Labels: children, liberals, Saturday, schools, socialism, Work

posted by dusio @ 8/18/2007 03:24:00 PM

1 Comments:

At 10:00 AM, alex said…

I love that pic. I have actually used it making some graphics. Good choice!

I felt bad reading your post about the uniforms. You're right though. EVERY child deserves the same chances for success at school. Our public schools are in deplorable condition, not only structurally, but faculty wise. I think that some teachers just don't give a shit, and with what they are making I can't say that I blame them. They need to be making a shit load more money than they do. Teachers should be our heroes and not dipshit sports goons.