out of the mouthes of babes

Wednesday Sam and I were driving to his indoor soccer final, and he asked from the back seat: "What's the difference between Democrats and Republicans?" Well, I answered, there are basic ideas about life and how we live that one can generally attribute to each of the parties. I hazarded that Republicans on the whole believe that people are responsible for themselves and their own well-being. At this point, Sam said, "Oh, so if you're poor, it's your fault?" Well, yes. Certainly it isn't really the government's job to sort you out. Democrats on the other hand, I suggested, felt that society as a whole might take some collective responsibility for everyone's well-being. He said something about this making sense because some people have a harder time. I asked him if he knew the phrase "level playing field"? "no". So I asked him to picture playing soccer on a hill where his team had to kick uphill to the goal - that wouldn't be fair would it? The idea of course being then to explain the metaphor in societal terms. But, he countered, "Yes, but at half time you switch sides". Ah, but there's the rub my boy. In life there is no half time. He's a thoughtful little bugger.

nose to the grindstone

Apparently I missed a bit of a downer week at work. We failed to hire for one of our two Spanish positions and everyone was feeling pretty beleaguered by week's end. Then there was the college executive committee meeting where all sorts of budgetary doom and gloom was meted out. Glad I missed that. It was warm while I was away and a lot of the snow has melted. I'm pasting in a picture of my favorite billboard from the Moscow trip. It's a play on alphabets.