Occasionally the obvious is obfuscated by overt and covert nuances that leave you saying, "Duh!" Re-writing the former sentence in every-day speak: "I could have told you that!"
My weekly NPR feed titled, "NPR's Most Emailed Stories", always fascinates me on many levels. First, I am intrigued about what others find interesting enough to email to others and second, after I read through the stories, I am usually left with some sort of feeling like, "Did I hear (in these cases, read) that correctly?"
One of this week's stories dealt with chocolate - a timely topic considering that Easter is quickly approaching and chocolate bunnies are for sale everywhere, all waiting to have their heads eaten off first. (Well, that is what I did as a kid, didn't you?) The basic gist of the story was theorizing whether or not a steady diet of chocolate can help control weight. All I can say is that if there is a federally funded study about this, I'll complain about my tax dollars being wasted only after signing up to be a part of the study.
Another story was about a Colorado community that has cancelled its annual Easter Egg hunt for children because parents were so poorly behaved. It seems that last year, parents decided to jump ropes to gain access to the egg area in order to ensure their children had eggs; i.e. candy or the coupons contained in the eggs. I've read about this kind of parent, media-dubbed "helicopter parents" because they hover in every corner of their children's lives, deeming themselves protectors of all things children-related........as long as the child is theirs. I can tell you from experience that this is the same type of parent who believes that his or her child can do no wrong or really deserved a better grade.......if only the teacher could see it!
The other story that left me speechless was a story about nannies. Not the grandmotherly types that are affectionately called "Nana" by their grandchildren, but the kind that are glorified babysitters. An employment agency in New York City (no surprise there) specializes in placing nannies with very wealthy families. So wealthy, in fact, that some of the G.B.S. (Glorified Baby Sitters) can earn well over $100,000.00 a year and even closer to $200,000.00 a year. There does seem to be something wrong with this picture but I am unable to put it into words. Maybe I am just envious?
I wonder how much I could earn in that Colorado community if I was a nanny willing to elbow aside others' children in order for the children that I was responsible for to "get" as many Easter eggs as possible? To get the answer to that question, buy a chocolate bunny and start with the head.
Ancora imparo
