How to know when a kid has too much

Today I saw something that I never, in my wildest imagination, thought I would see at my school. As I left the school I saw a group of blue baseball uniform-clad 8 and 9 year olds standing in front of the school, surrounded by their moms with cameras saving each moment of this day. I could tell they were waiting on something. It was obvious that the moms had driven the kids up to the school as their cars were parked each and every way in the lot.

As I made my way around the kids and parents, I looked down the road and saw what they were waiting for. Its white metal and glistening chrome grill plowed its way down the street and pulled in front of the school. What was this white beast? A Hummer. A stretch Hummer. Those Hummers you see for weddings and proms, and the occasional New Year's party. That is what was picking up the kids to go their Little League tournament. A Hummer.

I wonder: is there any part of the moms involved in this grand scheme that wondered about the audacity and total ridiculousness of this spectacle? What Little League team needs to be picked up in a stretch Hummer? And quite frankly, when those boys are older, what will they do for their prom dates and weddings? Seriously!

Do they realize they are setting the bar impossibly high? It is for reasons such as this that I really don't even feel like trying to get the kids anything nice, because many times it never feels truly appreciated. I mean, come on, I can give gift cards to the kids for reading 15 Newbery novels in 4 months, but that's nothing compared to getting a ride in a stretch Hummer.

And really, that problem is only minor compared to what the parents are actually doing to those kids. Sure, we want kids to be happy and to have what they want, but did any of these kids say, "Mom, I want a stretch Hummer?" No, I doubt it. But did those poor unwitting parents plant the seed that will bear the fruit of ungrateful behavior in the future? You bet.

Here's the other part of this that I see as impossibly stupid: all of the parents drove the kids to the school to get in this Hummer. So not only did they use the gas and CO2 to get to the school, with the kids in tow, they opted to waste a shitload of money on a Hummer, and to use one of the most environmentally offensive vehicles in existence, simply for their own vainglory.

I love where I work, but really, sometimes I feel like I work in la-la-land. And this is a public school!

There's one other thing, too. I was raised in an upper-class family, although I had no idea we were upper class at the time, and my parents made sure we weren't aware of it. Although I pretty much had every toy known to Hasbro packed away in my room, I was also raised not to flaunt or brag about money. My parents never drove imported European cars. They drove Pontiacs because they were friends with a local dealer. To overtly show your money means that you are "new money," and were not raised with any class. Part of my outrage over this also stirs my own upbringing that says that to do such things is tacky and low-class. I also think you don't have to have money to know these things. I think no matter who you are, or how much money you make, flaunting it is tacky.

Am I showing my southernness here? Any southerner knows the difference between a redneck with money and a southerner with money. One is screaming and yelling and driving Hummers while the other has her grandmother's silver tucked away in a pantry for her own children to use in years to come, and hopefully it's all monogrammed (I love monogramming).

So I suppose on many levels, I am simply offended.