Greetings, my fellow port swillers!

Eldest Gel’s college diploma turned up in the mail yesterday.  (Ol’ Robbo is proud to note that she graduated magna.)  If you’d told me as late as this past May that she’d receive it this way or that Youngest would have had her high school diploma handed to her through the car window, I’d have told you to go home because you were drunk.

The times, they are crazy.

At one point, Eldest’s school had been planning to hold a delayed graduation ceremony for her class in October, but that plan got the kybosh earlier this summah.  I gather the present plan is some kind of “virtual” ceremony, about which the Gel said, “Yeah, no.”  (She’s never been much of one for pomp and circumstance. She’d have done the delayed graduation, mostly to humor Mom and Dad, but an on-line event spikes her absurd-o-meter.)

It’s really too damn bad.

Those friends of the decanter with kidz in school will know that, what with the current rolling return to campuses, the Innerwebz and social media are full of stories now about colleges attempting to impose draconian social distancing policies and their students’ almost inevitable flouting of same.  Indeed, Ol’ Robbo got a breathless email from Youngest’s school just this morning announcing that “twenty-seven student-athletes tested positive for COVID-19.  Many, but not all, had attended an off-campus social gathering over a week ago.”  (Emphasis added.)

Zermuhgerd!!!

Given that the real-world chances of a college kid actually dying of the WuFlu are something astonishingly close to “nil”,  I can only assume that the current pig’s breakfast is motivated primarily by cowardice.  From both a politickal and a market standpoint, which university wants to be known as “that school where they let all the kids get the COVIDZ”?  And which state school wants to lay that mess on its governor’s doorstep?  Then, of course, there are the potential lawsuits brought by Joe College’s parents when he comes down with the sniffles.

Were it up to Chancellor Robbo?  I’d say, “We’re open for business. We all know there’s a nasty bug going round.  Use common sense.  If it’s too much of a risk for you, then stay home.  (We’ll even let you dial in remotely.)  Otherwise, you pay your money and you take your chances.  Have a nice semester.”

Probably why I’m not Chancellor Robbo.

Pah!  

I mention Eldest’s absurd-o-meter above.  She, along with her sisters, got that from me.  I’ve also got a contempt-o-meter.  It’s spiking, too.