So some guy whose heart was substantially bigger than his ability made a well-meaning but unsubstantiated promise years ago, and now a bunch of kids who should have known better than to trust anybody who said he'd give them something for free (that's something I'd assume you learn early in this neighborhood) are now supposed to pay for college with a broken promise. On the one hand, I'm pretty sad for them, and I hope that they're able to find scholarships elsewhere (the girl with the 4.0GPA should do okay, at least, and I'd bet the others qualify for some waivers, although I don't know how much and I realize that student loans are probably not a realistic option for most of these kids).

But while I'm sad for the kids -- if only for having, yet again, their faith in the world tested -- the woman with 14 kids has nobody but herself to blame for that.

N.B. The high school a bunch of them attend is visible in that satellite photo of my neighborhood if you zoom out or go south one step. That's the track around the athletic field that makes up the oval covering the southern half of the block.

link ( 1:15 EST, Wednesday, 20 December 2000.)

How in hell could anybody spend 312 hours at a party after they'd just gotten fired, laid off, or orphaned by a failed dot com? Must have been some gig.

At least I work for a company with a 140-plus year history and a market cap of $33B. And tons of cash.

link ( 0:53 EST, Wednesday, 20 December 2000.)