The Daily Times doubles down on its lavish praise of the do-gooderism of the Chester Girls and Boys Club for collecting 170 cases of bottled water and chauffeuring them out to Flint, Mich, a 1,300-mile, 19-hour drive, back and forth.
Are the Daily Times and the Chester GBC under the impression that there is no-bottled water available in Flint, or that it is being sold at predatory prices? Because if they are, they're quite wrong.
For instance, the Sam's Club in Flint has lots of water and at very reasonable prices. A 32-pack of Dasanti 16-ounce bottles is currently selling for $4.98. Hardly price gouging.
To the extent that fine the folks of Chester want to help the less fortunate of Flint get free bottled water, sending a check - not driving it there - would have been much more efficient.
But when it comes to some people and charity, it's the show that seems to impress more than the need or the effectiveness of the donation.
Again, this isn't to take anything away from the father-son team who took the time and made the effort to go on this water-run. Too bad they were so misinformed about the need for it.
Time to come back, Gil...
ReplyDeleteMy hope is that one day they'll give the kids a math lesson. 170 cases of water equates to (24x16oz) 384 oz, which equals to (384/128) 3 gallons per case, which equals (3x8.54 pounds) about 25 pounds per case, which equals (170x25 pounds) about 4,250 pounds of water. Driving a van with a 2-ton load from Chester to Flint burns a lot of gas. Coming back with no load burns a lot of gas, too.
ReplyDeleteThat was some expensive water.
But, the symbolism of collecting and driving the water to Flint gave the kids a sense of purpose. Maybe it was worth the cost even if it was a bad economic decision that is hard to justify.
You are too good a writer to fade into oblivion. You need to go back to the Daily Times or write for Philly.com. Your articles provided a voice for people who needed help. You help many people and exposed countless injustices. The public needs you
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing. Gil was one of the best.
DeleteGil, “get the lead out!” 🥊❤️🥊
ReplyDelete