Other People's Kids

Stupid People and Other Things

Minnesota has one of the finest educational systems in the country. No lie...I've seen the statistics, and in most categories we're up near the top. I'm not sure of the reasons, but I suppose it has to do with the Northern European/Scandinavian work ethic, our social culture, the fact that there's nothing better to do here in the winter than go to school, or whatever.

But mark my words, there are some very, very stupid people here.

I say this because I've been witnessing them all week long. You see, here it is a state pastime in the winter (along with going to school) to go ice fishing. This is the "sport" where you walk or drive out onto a lake, drill a hole, stab a minnow with a hook, drop it down the hole and then sit and look at each other. Many drink beer during this activity. Lying about your catch is optional.

Thing is, fish houses come off the lake by law at the end of February. I'm pretty sure people don't stop driving out on the lake until a few fall through. I saw a pickup out on the ice as late as Monday...it may have even been Tuesday. Maybe he didn't get the memo that the ice will probably be going out on the lakes IN A FEW DAYS.

Today, driving home from work, I saw a guy sitting out on the ice. I have no idea how he got out there, because there was about a 10-yard or so gap of open water along the shore everywhere around that area of the lake that I could see, but there he sat.

A few hundred yards further on, there were a few people by a very open section of the lake casting out to the ice. Clearly they had stolen the other guy's brain.

Such is life in Minnesota in April.

I haven't been in the mood to write much lately, and tonight isn't really an exception. I did want to let anybody know who's interested that we have now "officially" been matched with a birth mom, who is due in September. She can change her mind at any time up until a few days after the birth, so I'm trying not to get TOO excited, but hey, what can we do except bite our nails all summer?

We met her, and she's very nice (I think I mentioned her in a previous post, come to think of it, but I'm too lazy to read back and make sure). I haven't seen or talked to her since, but The Wife seems to be building a pretty strong friendship, talking on the phone for an hour or so every couple of days. Anyway...it seems we're on our way, barring her deciding she can't go through with it. Pray for us.

The last item..."Melanie" is due with her second baby in October, she has her little one who is like half a year old, and her father threw her out of the house this week. Nice. She has no job, no skills, and nowhere to go except a few friends. We invited her to come live with us for awhile and she accepted...she was planning to move in this weekend. But now we haven't heard from her since early this week. No idea if she'll go through with it...we require certain behaviors (like making sure we know where she is, no men overnight, no friends in and out after a certain time) that she seems hooked on.

Stay tuned. Maybe I'll even start to write more. Stranger things have happened.

posted by Dan @ 8:46 PM