Charles Angelich wrote in a message to Roy J. Tellason:

CA>> They discuss going to college like it's a walk in the park and you 
CA>> can put your life on 'hold' indefinitely until you feel you've had 
CA>> enough of college. One of my friends committed suicide in his 
CA>> senior year when he realized he was never going to go to college 
CA>> (too poor, bad grades, etc.). 

RJT> That's a shame. 

RJT> Personally it was never that important to me, 

CA> He was from a family that had _always_ been poor and was their 
CA> "last hope" of ever being otherwise.  This was prior to the state
CA> lotteries and gambling casinos.  Today I'd imagine they would sell
CA> everything they have and buy lottery tickets or hang out in the
CA> casinos then they'd ALL commit suicide together.

The money people spend on lottery tickets blows me away sometimes, 
especially when it's mostly those who can't afford it.  The news covers the
numbers drawn daily,  one station covers the actual drawing,  and the state
here has gone to more than one a day.  Plus they're now in the process of
trying to push a bill through the legislature to allow slot machines...

RJT> though even now some decades later I still have the idle thought 
RJT> now and then about doing that. But never quite seem to get up the 
RJT> ambition to do anything about it... 

CA> The 'pace' when I was in college was geared to kids living at home
CA> that do not have to work.

There are now programs and such for "working adults",  or so they
say.  I still haven't really decided to go that route.  Yet.  

CA> --8<--cut 

CA>> My recent experiences working in an office had me confused for 
CA>> most of the time I was there. I had never imagined how many who 
CA>> work in offices actually do _nothing_ for weeks at a time other 
CA>> than plan their next vacation, make personal calls, and some even 
CA>> sneak out and go shopping while 'on the clock'. Amazing, truly 
CA>> amazing. 

RJT> That seems to be a common thing in some of the daytime tv shows 
RJT> that I've caught bits of in passing, all this personal stuff going 
RJT> on and not much attention being paid to any actual work getting 
RJT> done. Not that this is something limited to daytime tv either, it 
RJT> shows up in prime time, too. 

CA> I don't watch very many actual TV shows. I watch movies that are
CA> being shown on TV. If the TV shows portray offices as you say they
CA> do then I'd say it's an accurate portrayal.

Maybe,  or maybe it's an influence,  portraying workplaces in general like
that.  I'm not sure.

CA>>> I can easilly imagine what happened at the meeting about being 
CA>>> 'PC' that recently pushed the guy over the edge who returned to  
CA>>> work with a gun and started shooting. Been there, but didn't 
CA>>> shoot anyone. :-) 

RJT>> I heard about that, but nothing about why. 

CA>> I can only say that my experiences with meeting where that was 
CA>> being discussed made it so very clear that a white protestant male 
CA>> is the lowest form of sentient being on the planet with no rights, 
CA>> no privileges, and no chance to defend themselves once they are 
CA>> accused of anything non-PC. It's enough to push a sane person over 
CA>> the edge and this guy was having some real problems before the
CA>> meeting. 

RJT> I don't go for that PC crap and won't have it shoved down my 
RJT> throat. If it's the big thing at some place I'm working, then I'll 
RJT> go elsewhere.

CA> Government jobs, major corporations, and most 'franchise' 
CA> businesses are very focused on being 'PC' around here but they
CA> interpret that as the white man shuts up and sits down.

I've been lucky so far,  I guess.

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