Signs of systemic breakdowns are all around us, if only you care to look.
We had another miserable weekend for airline travelers, as flights were canceled and stranded passengers lamented being unable to get from Point A to Point B with any degree of certainty.
Airlines trotted out the usual excuses of weather, sprinkled with airport traffic problems and shortages of workers for the planes. Yahoo reported 10,000 flights delayed or canceled over the weekend.
I once had to do considerable traveling for my sportswriting job. Now I say a silent prayer of thanks each night that I no longer have to put up with airline travel, which became an ordeal post 9-11.
A companion national story to airline woes in recent days has noted the shortage of teachers with schools about to reopen, prompting some states to lower standards. We’re yet to reach the point where fogging a mirror qualifies one to instruct youth, but we’re headed in that direction.
Teachers, as is their wont, are whining about being overworked, underpaid, and generally underappreciated. In some cases all are true. In too many examples, none are the case.
A friend of mine, a teacher decades back, used to say teachers are the most insecure people with the most secure jobs. He was right then, and now.
Our schools are a mess, but a large part of that has to do with inept management and too many teachers just showing up and punching the clock, if not the hooligan students.
On a more personal level, I spent 4 ½ hours today at the house of my late mother, awaiting people from our glorious Greater Johnstown Water Authority to take out the meter. This is necessary because even if one has service turned off, there is a $9.99 a month fee because the service is available.
One only escapes that fee by having the meter removed and the line cut.
I have done the bureaucratic dance, as have other family members, trying to get this situation rectified. Finally, last week an appointment was made to have the meter removed.
I was given a choice of 9-noon, or noon to 4. I picked noon to 4, got to the house early today, just in case, and set about doing some things.
I mowed the grass, then went inside to sort through knickknacks and assorted clutter. I later listened to some podcasts on my phone, and then played two games of chess on a cell app.
It now was 3:40 p.m. and I began to suspect no water guy was coming.
I called the authority, dealt with a very unhelpful phone tree, and finally picked an inappropriate choice just to talk with someone.
Eventually, my call was answered and after much checking, I was assured someone would be dispatched. Apparently the work order had fallen through the cracks – figuratively not literally.
The guy expected a harsh welcome, but I assured him I understood it was morons in the office, not him, who had screwed the pooch.
He got there only about five minutes after the supposed window closed, and was gone in 15 or so more minutes
The guy is looking to retire as soon as possible, for which I commended him.
It’s a common sentiment, often even among those who only just started working.
We can’t find physically fit and mentally straight youth to join our Woke armed forces.
Farmers are being driven from their fields by government regulation and raging inflation.
The nation’s infrastructure has taken on a Third World look.
The Biden Regime wants to bankrupt fossil fuel companies, even as energy prices skyrocket.
That same regime has passed a spend until it hurts bill to – laugh, chuckle, guffaw – help rein in inflation.
But there is good news tonight. Money has been allotted to hire 87,000 more IRS agents, the better to harass the public into political submission through intimidation.
Sam Ross Jr's site 