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Supply and Demand
School Supplies Demand a Second Mortgage!
By Linda Sharp
Tis the season of back to school. Malls are crowded with excited kids and harried mothers purchasing this fall's must-have clothing. I shudder to think what grunged-out, bell-bottomed, psychedelic nightmare the cool kids will be wearing next. Schools are being revisited by students eager to sign up for the easiest electives, i.e.: Macrame 101 and Philosophy of Rap, but not eager for the summer to come to an end. And we are all once again flocking like lemmings to the Wal-Mart in search of school supplies.
I never understood why my mother held this time of the year in such disdain. To be quite honest it always confused me. I thought she should have been happy to see her four rugrats board the bus and give her some peace and quiet in which to do the laundry and the dishes. On the contrary, even without a calendar, I could tell by her demeanor that the end of our time off was fast approaching. She smiled less. Her eyes would glaze over. And I would often find her hyperventilating into a paper bag, the checkbook and calculator on the counter before her. It was not until my own daughters hit kindergarten that I too discovered how the words "back to school" could strike terror in the heart of a parent.
It is not enough that my oldest daughter has the audacity to keep growing during the school break, thus rende