Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Bonfires of the Vanities

what good is a college education today if it doesn't teach common sense?

I've always felt college was a place to go to prolong adolescence, especially if mommy and daddy paid for the whole thing. After high school, the deal was set..you better go to college or we'll cut the money off, says mom and dad. They wanted to keep control of the kids and sending them to college was a way to do it. They could brag to their country club pals how smart their sons and daughters are... that is the old model..it doesn't work and never did. Education is not a four year deal..it is a life long deal that demands all your energy and time, whatever situation you find yourself in. My situation was I worked since I was 16, made plenty of mistakes, learned lessons, retired early and took education wherever I could, paying my own way... In the 60s college was the place to go to avoid the draft. Nowadays it seems the place to go to avoid work.
Now we hear that the Tea Fire was caused by a group of students who built a bon fire up at the Tea House during a little party..they thought they put it out before they left, but the embers were flamed by sundowner winds and a catastrophe happened... there's nothing wrong with partying at the Tea House..everyone did it as kids..it's private property but never had any guards or measures to stop people from sneaking up there..so naturally, we all did. All that's up there is ruins and an awesome feeling of privacy...so I don't blame the students for being young..but the bonfire issue was beyond stupid...open fires do not belong in the hills of Santa Barbara! You shouldn't need a college degree to figure that out!
so kids....drop out of school, get a job, tell mom and dad politely to fuck off, and then your real education will start....

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