I have not, to my knowledge, ever read anything by Chicago Sun-Times columnist Terry Savage. And she is a rare bird in not having a wikipedia entry, which is the only way I know how learn things about people, places, or things anymore. But from her latest column, I can glean a couple facts.
The column is a true story about when she and some family members pull over at the side of the road to patronize a little girl's lemonade stand:
Then my brother asked how much each item cost.First, I can tell that she needs to brush up on the meaning of "spirit."
"Oh, no," they replied in unison, "they're all free!"
I sat in the back seat in shock. Free? My brother questioned them again: "But you have to charge something? What should I pay for a lemonade? I'm really thirsty!"
His fiancee smiled and commented, "Isn't that cute. They have the spirit of giving."
That really set me off, as my regular readers can imagine.
"No!" I exclaimed from the back seat. "That's not the spirit of giving. You can only really give when you give something you own. They're giving away their parents' things -- the lemonade, cups, candy. It's not theirs to give."
Second, I can tell that she needs to relax, man.
She assumes the parents (via the nanny) gave the kids the supplies so that they could sell them. Maybe the parents wanted their kids to meet more people and make friends in the neighborhood (since they spend all their time with their nanny), and that was the sole point of the lemonade stand. In which case, giving away the lemonade would be exactly what those "owning" the supplies would have wanted.
ReplyDeleteShe also assumes that the lemonade stand was set up to be an "enterprise". Is fun no longer something we value in and of itself and couldn't that be reason for having a stand on a holiday?
Of course, there are plenty of folks out there who think every activity should be profit-bearing, but that's assuming the only "profit" to be made here is money.
Moreover, her entire column that day was a highlight of what the true "Independence Day spirit" should be and how this of giving things away that weren't theirs to begin with was somehow the opposite of that spirit. I guess Independence Day means different things to different people. I thought it meant we could do whatever the damn hell we wanted with our money - like give it away to our neighbors through a lemonade stand - instead of having to give it all to the crown.
From her comment about how her regular readers would understand that charity and kindness set her off, I won't be seeking out her column to read. Ever. She needs to learn how to say "thank you" and CHILL OUT! I'm going to try and go chill out myself now... argh.