Off-topic, but not really

By Peggy | March 12, 2011 |

My daughter, our youngest, decided to attend the University of Iowa this fall.

She has known for some time that she wants to major in English, and so had her sights set on the University of Texas.

For a time, I was feeling really smart about that Texas guaranteed tuition contract I bought when she was in kindergarten (oh, yeah, after tuition deregulation six or seven years ago I totally saw THAT train wreck coming.) And she’s a really good student — her GPA is over 100 points. It looked like things were going to line up nicely for her.

But because she’s also in a good school with lots of good students, UT capped her.

The only way to be sure they would let her in is if she were in the top 8 percent. She’s in the top 11 percent. UT says she’s welcome to populate one of the campuses in the outer hinterlands (I won’t let her go to UT-Arlington because they are drilling) and then they will let her come to Austin her sophomore year.

In addition to creating the financial train wreck of tuition deregulation, our legislature in their infinitely stupid policy making, told Texas colleges and universities — the public ones — they had to let in the top ten percent of every high school.

Now, Iowa knows what they’ve got when they’ve hooked a student like Paige. She scored so high on their admissions rubric, they offered her the regents scholarship package.

Got to buy lots more sweaters.

Texas never hesitates to squanders it best resource … its people.

Posted in rants

And one step back

By Peggy | March 7, 2011 |

Sam just told me he wants to ride in Horse-O-Rama on Friday. It’s at Will Rogers Arena in Fort Worth, a place he has been to many times in the past decade.

I asked him whether he plans on driving himself. After all, it’s a lot easier to get there from here than to nonPareil in Plano.

He just looked at me like I suggested he drive to the moon.

Ack.

Posted in driving

Overheard in the Wolfe House #73

By Peggy | February 23, 2011 |

Sam: I can’t invite people on Facebook to my graduation yet.
Peggy: Can’t you create the event?
Sam: I don’t know the date yet. May 12 or May 13. I don’t think I’ll know until right when I turn in the application.
…
Peggy: I’m thinking about blogging that you’re filling out your graduation application.
Sam: Ok, you can blog about that.

Posted in hope, What Sam says

See Sam Drive

By Peggy | February 18, 2011 |

Monday and Wednesday I had parent duty, big-time, riding with Sam as he gets accustomed to driving a rather complicated route between home and his internship at nonPareil Institute in Plano.

Very, very cool place, by the way, that nonPareil.

The last leg of the journey is very familiar. it’s the same route as to church. So Wednesday, I just settled back and enjoyed a little nap.

As a widow, I rarely get driven much. Runner Susan knows this. I gush about it every time she and I go somewhere and she drives me.

We were waiting at the light at the last big intersection heading home when I was awakened by the sound of squealing tires and a crash. I could see, somewhat, past the monster Dodge Ram in front of us that there had been a disagreement about the changing light on the cross traffic. The little SUV wanted to stop, but the speeding pickup behind him didn’t. My eyes opened just in time to see the pickup driver open his door and get out, and survey the shards and leaking fluids that used to be the front of his truck.

Sam was nonplussed. His first comment?

“We’d better get out of here before the police get here and we’re trapped.”

Posted in driving, What Sam says