… something else happens. Something else happens that leaves no doubt that the world is going to hell in a handbasket. And I realize that most of you have far more important things to do that worry about my petty little problems. Oh, wait. Never mind. You are here. You’re not off dealing with your own lives. Well now, don’t we just have some little issues of our own…hmmm?
Anyway. This is no great big thing in and of itself. But it just underscores the fact that we are, collectively, a bunch of jerks.

Here’s the deal. Twice a year, the Home & School Association at my kids’ school has a “recycled uniform” sale. Because kids grow so fast, and because the uniform style changes when the kids transition from elementary to middle school grades, and because the uniforms are so stinking expensive, it’s a great deal. People bring in any uniforms that are still in good condition, tagged and ready for sale. It’s a great way to stock up without having to pay full price, and many of the uniform items look almost brand new. Depending on the child that wore them, of course. The only exception is the stuff that was worn by the PK, K, and 1st Grade boys. Well, you know. Those uniforms don’t usually make it to the sale. The boys were too busy grinding grass stains into them or making “dirt angels” on the playground. (Yeah, yeah, we don’t get snow here, so snow angels are out of the question.) But for the most part, you can grab some pretty good bargains. After the sale is completed, you have the option of donating your items for the next sale or picking them up and saving them for the next sale. And so it goes.

At the sale itself, the H&S Association sells the donated items as well as your items. And if you brought in some tagged items, you receive a check in the mail for whatever you sold. Not a bad deal. The H&S items are priced lower that the parent-sold items, because by the time they make it to the “donated” category, they are not in great shape. H&S items are not tagged but are sold at set prices. Parents price their items according to the condition of each item. And when I tell you some of this stuff comes in with the tags from the uniform store still affixed, I’m not kidding. Some of it is literally brand new, never worn. So the parent stuff is the good stuff, and the H&S stuff is, while perfectly fine, not as good.

But it seems that certain people discovered a way to rip off the system. Even at a parochial school. Because H&S items are not marked, and the parent items are, anything brought to the cashier without a tag is sold at the lower, pre-set H&S price. The parent-priced items are calculated separately so that the parent receives the money for those items. But because the H&S items are priced cheaper, well, yeah. You guessed it. Saturday we discovered several tags from parent items ripped off and thrown in the bathroom trash. What people were doing was taking the tags off the parent-priced items and presenting the items to the cashier. Since there were no tags, the items were rung up at the lower H&S rate.

So…the parents don’t get their money, and these dishonest folks, who send little Caroline to a parochial school so that she can be taught values along with her timetables, pocket the difference.

Oh, yeah. I’m feeling good about the state of our world.