More escapism
All that was necessary was a short window of opportunity. And an open window. For the second day in a row, the dog escaped from our family gaol, making a leap to the kind of world a dog dreams of. A park, without a leash or a pack leader. I received the call at work, but realized that my seach resources were limited. And, with the help of a diligent neighbour, the furry rambler was back on home turf before I arrived.
Still, this is not a solution. We had closed (but not locked) the window. I’d even placed two shelves in front of the opening. Insufficient. The will found the way. And now I’m looking forward to several weeks of road trip with trepidation.
I happened to listen to a radio report from the school where I started my career as an isolated educator. In my day, the school had thirty-two (more or less) students and four teachers. Declining numbers have dropped the school to less than a dozen students with one teacher, and the forecast calls for closure before too many more cycles. Sad, really. Once a community loses its school, there’s little chance of attracting new population. And once a school is “just a memory”, it’s hard to kickstart the motor for another trial.
I’ll be keeping an eye on things, but there’s no sense in my promising to bring my kids as “the next class of 20##”. They’ve passed that waypoint. Nor do I have any plans to increase the world’s population. The school will have to work this problem out on its own.
