Quite a number of years ago I spent a long afternoon with an encyclopedia salesman. He was polite and persuasive. As a young parent I thought it my duty to hear him out and to consider the potential benefit of an encyclopedia set for my children. After all, it could influence their education. Or so said the salesman, using many more words than necessary to define the myriad virtues of a set of encyclopedia. The price of the books was staggering by any measure, but the availability of the easy payment plan, rolled out in force, was the salesman’s answer to that.

“After all,” he said, “it’s less than the price of a quart of milk per week. Surely the future of the kids is worth that.”

Well, I thought about it. Then I decided the quart of milk was more important to the kids.

I’ll never forget the salesman’s response. He said my decision was a failure of his efforts to educate me. That was pure nonsense, so I showed him the door before he could redouble his pitch.

Orcas voters recently considered a construction bond measure for the school district. The measure was presented using all the opaque generalities of educational bureaucratic jargon, touting benefits for the children if passed and forecasting doom if not. It even had the easy payment plan. The taxpayers decided to reject the measure.

And what is the district’s response? They say the decision was a result of their failure to properly educate the voters. So now they are redoubling their efforts with an economy size (but still huge) measure, with the easy payment plan. I intend to show them the door. Again.

Leonard Wood

Eastsound