A new dawn beckons

Well, here we are again. Last year’s graduates have evaporated into the collegiate mist, leaving nothing behind but an email address and a plea for the odd judging job (except, of course, for those of last year’s graduates who refuse to go away, many of whom have been refusing to go away for decades). By now LDers have inhaled a bit of Mill and maybe Singer, while Pfffters, who have spent the last two weeks dodging the draft (a hot-button topic born no doubt in the minds of the draft-dodgers at Rippin’, since the rest of the world can’t for the life of us wonder who’s been making this front-page news, although to tell the truth, it’s not a bad topic, just one that is hardly on the nightly news cutting edge), now have to ponder the cutting edge of nuclear technology. Never forget: the Carousel of Progress in 1964 culminated in a GE nuclear power demo—it’s here, it’s cheap, it’s clean. It’s still here, folks. And it’s probably a good debate topic. In fact, I suggest that they recycle it every twenty years or so, just to keep it fresh.

Next week we welcome in the new Sailors (if any). One never knows, and one always wonders how a particular kid finds out about this stuff in such a way as to want to do it, given our annual disconnectivity in terms of recruitment and the like. The Middle School harbors a debate class that has nothing to do with any known high school debate activity, but that seems to neither attract nor repel any candidates. Whatever. There is no question that school classes share certain traits not unlike wine vintages: bad harvest weather, truncated growing season, too fruity, too much tannin, that sort of thing. I’m used to the Sailors being a little too fruity, but when they’re too tannic, all hell can break loose. We’ll see next week. As always, I would imagine, we’ll Zeno them down paradoxically 50% at a time for three or four weeks to get to our real number.

Tonight I begin, in earnest, to work on vigilantes for Rippin’. Considering that I have about two weeks to do it, I think I’ve put it off long enough. Let us embrace the work ethic and do whatever it is we are supposed to do. Let the VCA pick up its shovels and axes and backhoes and get down to business, although I do suggest that those of you who decide to pick up backhoes do so only after a few stretching exercises. The new school year is here. We welcome you, 2008-9. We embrace you. Halfway through you, we will have a new president. And a new vice president. And a new ex-president, and a new ex-vice president, come to think of it. Have you given any thought to how much W can get for hitting the speaking circuit? The mind boggles. As for our new ex-vice president, I think they’re just moving him to yet another undisclosed location and waiting to see what kind of creature breaks through the mild-looking exterior pod.

Yep. We welcome you, 2008-9.