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Edith Ann | 02/06/2009 12:45 pm

Life in the Little Lane: Edith Ann's Letter to Obama Re: Kids' Allowances

Dear President Obama:  I hope you can get this e-mail on your BlackBerry. I know you are busy — so am I, and I wouldn’t take your time or mine if I didn’t think this wasn’t important. I’m writing this from my house which is in foreclosure. If foreclosure could be made into a tourist attraction, Edgetown could be a popular place for tourists to go.

We moved to Edgetown hoping for a better life. This has not panned out. First, my dad lost his job at the outdoor-carpeting factory. But I guess that was for the best, because the factory was probably causing global warming anyway. And just last week, my mom who works nights as an airport security guard keeping us safe, got caught with a bag of confiscated cosmetics she had been saving to give, she said, to this nearby retirement home.

But looks like they don’t believe her story. Probably because her face glows now like some of those faces you see on the Red Carpet of those award shows. Those products really work! I tried some myself and even I look younger. But what good is it if mom looks five years younger but might have to waste her young looks locked up in jail. By the time she gets sprung, she’ll look about as old as she did before she started using all those confiscated cosmetics.

Anyway, our lawyer, Mr. Pro Bono, said she most likely won’t do jail time, but she could lose her job. And this is the only job my mom has ever really loved. It gave her a lot of self-esteem. Where else could she get a job where she can improve her looks and help fight terrorism at the same time?

By now, you are no doubt saying to yourself, “Get to the point, Edith.” So, OK, my main point has to do with the ‘big lack of money’ problem I see among kids today.

Don’t think I’m asking for a handout; frankly, a handout would be way too small. No, I’m asking for a Big Bank-type bailout that would go to all the kids in this country. We are, after all, a bridge to the future. So, this is one way to invest in our infrastructure.

The way this could work is the government would give kids a weekly or monthly allowance for going to school where we learn to be productive citizens. Bad students who don’t show up or refuse to study could be docked. Good students who do good deeds and study after school could get paid overtime. There would be regulations to make sure the bad, lazy kids could not award bonuses to themselves. 

In fact, maybe along with a teacher’s union, we should organize a student’s union. Right now, students, especially the young ones like me – oh, did I say I am 6 ½? – but people say I’m old for my age. Anyway, young kids have almost no rights. I’m sure your daughters complain about that. On TV, they say you have to do something bold. Well, here’s something bold: Give us pay, now, for all the work we do at school. Don’t wait until we are older and get to be CEOgres.

By the way, a big reason why kids need a bailout is there is almost no way a kid can make decent money. For example, to help out with the bills last year, I had a lemonade stand — which ended up costing me money; plus, I broke my grandmom’s beautiful cut-glass pitcher which everyone keeps saying is irreplaceable. I was just trying to make everything look nice like Martha Stewart would if she had a lemonade stand. 

120 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Kay Sara
Dear Edith, If kids got paid to go to school then it would not be so bad when they graduate and cannot find a job. If they were smart and saved the money they earned while studying then they would have something to live on when they graduate. College grads are unable to find work and they are NEVER mentioned in the unemployment numbers, College grads have student loans and no income. They are not even considered when people talk about the unemployment number being too low because it does not reflect those discouraged and off of unemployment benefits or the underemployed. WHY ARE WE NOT INCLUDING COLLEGE GRADS UNABLE TO FIND WORK AND ARE NOT EVEN COUNTED IN THE UNEMPLOYED?
By Kay Sara on 02/09/2009 4:56 am
Ro H
Kay Sara, Actually, it is being reported that the top levels of the hierarchy are being most devastated by this mess. Since the middle class is almost extinct now, it is not as hard on the lower levels of the class hierarchy. I continue to remain hopeful that our new President will be strong and creative enough to ultimately lead us out of this damn mess we’ve been put into. Kryssi has the right idea, by offering a place for people to stay and food or meals to share, as well. This is precisely the kind of thing which will get us all through this, together! You go, Kryssi! Anyone who lives in the country or suburbs can always grow their food. City folks may have more trouble unless they plant in small plots, or individual pots. It is a start, I think. There will most likely be a more detailed accounting of all people being affected the most, by this mess.
By Ro H on 02/12/2009 4:51 am
Kay Sara
Oh my goodness- how does one get so delusional? You sound like Barbara Bush saying to the people living in the Superdome (rapes, feces everywhere, death, missing loved ones etc), after Katrina- “well they have it better here than how they lived before”
By Kay Sara on 02/12/2009 10:18 am
Ro H
WHAT? How in the world did you get this idea from what I wrote? I am simply writing about communal style living during a depression era - NOT - (rapes, feces everywhere, death, missing loved ones etc), By Kay Sara on 02/12/2009 11:18 am I NEVER even suggested it was a better way, although there are some who do in fact believe communes are a great way of living. (I mean legitimate, NOT those dictated by an insane ‘leader’)
By Ro H on 02/13/2009 4:28 pm
Kay Sara
Many a truth is said in jest.
By Kay Sara on 02/09/2009 5:00 am
Edith Ann
Hi everybody. Thanks for your comments. I forgot to mention that we kids would be expected to volunteer for community service and do what we can to make this a better world. We would take responsibility for making our Carbon footprints smaller plus cleaning our rooms. I’d like to hear your ideas.
By Edith Ann on 02/09/2009 2:39 pm
Serena .
Edith, I am so encouraged to see you back in the sandbox. While you have been away over the past five or six months, a lot has happened in the world and on wOw. Let’s just say that the simple fact that you are thinking about making this a better world by doing something positive is a refreshing change.
By Serena . on 02/09/2009 6:45 pm
Dice the Nice
Dear Edith Ann: like your idea about volunteering to do community service. Unfortunately, it is difficult for a cat to get to be a volunteer. If I could, I would like to be a volunteer at the Humane Society and help cats and dogs get good homes. Maybe I should at least offer. I know what a really good home is because I have one. Love, Dice, the Nice
By Dice the Nice on 02/09/2009 6:46 pm
Jane Wagner
This makes me happy…to know you have a nice place to live. It’s all we need, I think,don’t you, Dice?
By Jane Wagner on 02/09/2009 6:52 pm
Dice the Nice
Oh definitely - a nice place to live rates high in the scheme of things. Good friends (like the wOw people) make things even nicer. I am so glad to be part of the sandboxers. Hugs and purrs from Dice the Nice
By Dice the Nice on 02/10/2009 1:06 pm
Kryssi K
There is a HUGE field behind my neighborhood that I always drive past…for some strange reason, it’s constantly COVERED in litter! For those few seconds I’m driving, I become overwhelmed with emotions and ideas will go flooding through my brain: “Why is it so hard to collect your trash until you’ve made it to a location which has trash cans?” “How can people NOT CARE about their PLANET?” “How would they like it if I tossed my nasty trash onto their living room floors?” “Why are there not criminals in orange jumpsuits picking this crap up with those poker-stick-whatchamacallits?” “Where do they even SELL those stake thingies anyway; I could just do it my damn self!” “I wonder if the community service organizations even realize there’s all this garbage back here…maybe that’s why no one is doing anything about it…” “What are those organizations technically CALLED so I can look ‘em up in the phone book and inform them?” “Could I get in trouble for cleaning up litter, i.e. loitering in a field that may not be considered public property?” “I can’t even keep my OWN room clean, what right do I have to complain…” By the time I’ve driven up the road, I’m over it. I bet I would be more motivated if I knew I had friends to accompany me and help with such a big job. Funny/sad how the presence of others can alter my mentality. Maybe I SHOULD clean my room first…it would be a good first step toward confident motivation. But I haaaate cleaning my room. Edith, what if I pay you to clean my room? Multiple problems solved. (I hear they make pills to help control this kind of unfocused thought process………)
By Kryssi K on 02/09/2009 8:52 pm
Mugsy Jr. Peabody
That’s what my mom was saying to Aunt Mugsy, that everybody got confused about what we need. But really what it is she wrote down. We need clean air to breathe. We need water to drink. We need food to eat. We need a nice safe place to sleep. We need warm clothes to wear. We need exercise. And we need a hug. She says everything else is a want. And all the rest of that is just stuff. But I don’t know, Edith, cause Aunt Mugsy goes on like that about life and everything, but Mom doesn’t. So I think something really big is going on.
By Mugsy Jr. Peabody on 02/09/2009 7:38 pm
Serena .
Jr., your mom is a very smart lady. Needs and wants are very different things—big people just get them mixed up sometimes.
By Serena . on 02/10/2009 4:55 am
Serena .
Hey, Jr., I thought of something. What about love? Is love a need or a want?
By Serena . on 02/10/2009 11:53 am
Brooklyn Gal
Just when I take a vacation from Wow, Edith Ann returns to the Sandbox!! You have been so missed. Wow was not the same. People started getting angry all over again and calling people bad names. One said I was not a patriotic American. Why are these people so mean???
By Brooklyn Gal on 02/09/2009 8:05 pm