Schools have big budgets and get millions of dollars from the federal government and state governments, an amount of money that can tempt the most sincere and well-meaning person. It can seem so easy to cut a teeny corner there and plump this account over here. Or to hand out enormous contracts to 1-month old companies. Just like high-stakes standardized testing linked to punishment [closing a school is a punishment, firing principals is punishment, firing teachers is punishment, tearing down a school is punishment] can lead adults to cheat in any way they think they can get away with.
I felt an episode coming on.

One day my grandma was watching me when I had spring break and my mom and dad had to work. I wanted to go down to the pool and shoot hoops in the parking lot. Grandma said it was too hot. That made me upset.
In one month I will be a first grader.
…
I saw a man in a store wearing a pink shirt.
First of all, an update on the buyout. The buyout failed to materialize this week. However, there is always the chance a major media conglomerate will just swoop down on this thing.
If that happens, you won’t need an update, because you’ll see us riding around in new sports cars. BoJo will have his own iPod. You’ll know when we sell out. We’ll be paying our bills with gold bars. We’ll be tipping with gold bars.
…
After a night of tossing and turning, we woke up to the sound of birds chirping on the verandah. It was too early and they were too damn loud. The lights off the Pacific shined brightly, lighting up the entire room. I tried several times…
…

It’s no surprise to anyone that knows me, but I’m not an optimist. Still, I sometimes try to see the pewter lining in the clouds on life’s horizon, and, being sixty-four years old, I pay more attention than you young whipper-snappers. If you don’t know…
