Examples of things undergoing change: the post office and schools

Opinion: December 9, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Two things caught my EYE in Tuesday’s Vindicator. First was the apparent imminent demise of the Postal Service (front page); second, was the future of the Youngstown City School District (editorial page.)

I rely on the U.S. Postal Service for everything from catalogue purchases to bill paying. Why? I don’t trust the internet. Whenever possible I call a catalogue seller on the phone or send in a paper order form. I figure there will eventually be a total crash of every computer and we won’t have anything on paper to back it up. It will be sort of like “The Walking Dead” (my current favorite show) but without the zombies.

I happily pay extra in order to pay my bills by check. I refuse to use online banking. It took me years to trust paying for items at the store with a check card. I never use an ATM and have no idea what my PIN is.

I recently read an editorial by George Will suggesting we privatize mail delivery and turn it over to UPS, Fed X, and maybe Wal-Mart. I’ll accept that. I grew up with vinyl (78 then 45 and finally 33 rpm’s) and reel to reel tape (3 æ, 7 Ω and 15 ips.), saw cassettes emerge from just for speech to being able to satisfactorily record music, and finally the CD. Now I hear we will stop making CDs and everything will be downloaded. Currently, I don’t know how to do that.

And then there is the Youngstown school system. When I first moved to Youngstown I considered the district to be better than the one I left. The education my wife received at South High beat the heck out of the one I’d gotten at my high school. I expected it to continue to improve. It didn’t.

It must be very, very painful for Youngstown city school graduates in my age group to look back at what it was and see what it now is. I think it will go private too (or whatever you want to call the types of schools named by the state superintendent).

I believe the state wants to get out of the “public education” business and Youngstown seems to them like a good place to start. Well, that is my rant for the morning. So, Merry Christmas, and I’ll try not to get depressed for at least the rest of the month.

George A. Hughes, Boardman