Wise Ideas

Home Cookin'

You can tell from my calm demeanor, list-less coat pockets and slow pace through the grocery store this week that I am NOT cooking Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. 

I have the distinct pleasure of helping my cousins out in the kitchen this year at my aunt and uncle's house in the Seattle-area.  In exchange however, I will be forced to sit next to my two bickering kids while flying to and from Sea-Tac.

But back to the madhouse that is the supermarket on the days preceeding Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

For grocery store veterans such as myself, the crowds at the market during holiday season are a study in demographics.  You can tell by the dazed looks in some shoppers eyes that they are inexperienced in the art of major-meal making.  And you can instantly tell who's just been sent there with a list --- a non-cooker who will likley spend the rest of the holiday consuming rather than creating. 

However, even before the holiday grocery shopping season commenced - I've noticed a change in the crowd at the grocery store.  There are a lot of new faces in there scanning the shelves and reading the boxes.  And they are not just buying deli items or beer.  These are home-cooking rookies - spoiled by years of restaurant dining and take-out - forced into the grocery store by recession.  The last home-cooked meal many of these novices probably had was at mom and dads!

If you don't count McDonald's, Subway and other fast food places - the restaurant industry has been in a downward spiral for more than a year, as people cut back on dining out.  Although millions of people have given up their daily lattes to save money -- they aren't giving up eating.  So it stands to reason that more people are cooking at home -- despite the fact that food prices are skyrocketing as fast as the Dow is falling.

And as these newbies hit the grocery stores - they are at once overwhelmed by the choice they have in brands and looking to save cash.  Which partially explains the spike in business for old familiar brands like Campbell's and Kraft, as well as increased sales in less expensive store-brand items.

This trend even prompted The NYTimes' Jane E. Brody to write a sort-of primer for the home-cooking neophytes - which includes the prediction that "you may just find that when the economic crisis eases, you're not even tempted to return to your old dependence on foods made by others."

I've not news for Ms. Brody:  I've been home-cooking for my family for going on 12 years now -- and all I really want is a break!  What Brody doesn't address is the boredom of coming up with a dinner idea 365 days a years...and the time it takes to shop for all those meals.

Which again, explains my calm demeanor and slow pace through the grocery store this week.  For once - I'm NOT cooking dinner tomorrow night.  And this Thanksgiving -- that's what I'm really thankful for.

Happy Turkey Day to you and yours! 

Mommy Bloggers For Sale

They operate out of public view - in the shadows - where they trade their growing influence for perks including trips, merchandise, and experiences not offered to "average" people.  They even have a name, known only among a select circle of power brokers:  "The Eleven."

Who are these people?  Washington lobbyists?  Characters in a new John Grishman novel?  No - they are a niche group of opportunistic Mommy Bloggers, and they are for sale.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. 

But if there were such a thing as a code of ethics in blogging - this exploding trend that blurs the line between marketing and blogging would be much more transparent.  As it is now in the wild, wild world of the blogosphere - anything goes!

The full story of "The Eleven" moms panel is told this week in Advertising Age.  The Eleven were chosen and assembled by Wal-Mart stores, which paid for 11 Mommy bloggers to travel last month to the store's Bentonville, Arkansas headquarters in order to participate in a "Salon Secret" panel.  As AdAge explains, "the idea was to have the mommy bloggers...be treated with an unnamed 'salon brand,' to be revealed as Pantene. A sampling site for the launch notes that 70% of salon-brand users prefer the mystery brand."

And of course, the Mommies then go home and blog about it in a positive light - spreading the good word among their countless readers and creating a viral buzz worth millions to P & G and Wal-Mart.  And although one member of The Eleven, Katja Presnal - who runs the Skimbaco.com online retail site and SkimbacoLifestyle blog - tells AdAge that she isn't paid with money for her positive posts, one can't deny that these particular mommies are benefiting from their blogging - although she does have a limited offer of "free samples" on her blog.

But the story of The Eleven doesn't stop there.  As AdAge also points out, "the Bentonville experience also included a trip to the Campbell's Soup test kitchen and offices of Coca-Cola Co. and Kellogg Co., where the moms weighed in favorably in advance of the latter's marketing program in cooperation with Wal-Mart to tout the value of its cereal at only 50 cents per bowl. They also got to stop by one of the retailer's famed Saturday-morning meetings, which featured appearances by Harrison Ford and CEO Lee Scott, who donned one of Mr. Ford's hats from 'Indiana Jones.'"

In Washington, they have a not-so-favorable name for this kind of business:  influence peddling.  In the marketing world however, they are benignly called a focus group.

And in the wake of last week's Motrin-gate, the influence wielded by certain mommy bloggers is something corporations and marketers are both terrified of getting on the wrong side of -- and anxious to coddle and please.  

Curiously, as AdAge also reports, the recent Motrin fuss involving Mommy bloggers and Twitterers including the aforementioned Katja Presnal, did little or no damage to Johnson and Johnson outside the Mommy blogger world.   However, as a test case in social media, it proved invaluable.

But to many bloggers who also happen to be moms - myself included - Motrin-gate did more to hurt our circle than to help it.  Erin Kotecki Vest, who writes the QueenofSpainBlog, said it best when writing "right or wrong, the rest of the web is now rolling its eyes, again, at our community. What happened...went from smart, powerful activism to Palin-rally lynch mob."

So what of the mysterious "Eleven?"  How do you know what you're reading isn't paid for in favors?  You don't.   There are no editors, ethics panels or fact-checkers.  It's up to the blogger whether to be honest about what they might have received in exchange for their positive posts -- or not.  There are no disclosure rules in the blogosphere.

But if it looks like marketing, reads like marketing and smells like marketing ---- it probably is marketing. 

Wise Ideas Disclosure:  I was sent two bottles of MomSpit once as a "thank you" for a blog I wrote about the viral success of this small company started by a couple of moms.  I gave the 8oz. bottle away as a gift, and the 2oz. bottle remains in the bottom of my purse for "emergencies."  Other than that, I'm clean.

Flying "Family Style"

It's that time again.  The season when intermittent airline passengers (AKA: parents and their kids) jam the airports trying to get to grandma's house in time for the dysfunctional family fun to begin.  

Triple-A is predicting fewer people will be going over the river and through the wood this holiday season for obvious reasons.  In fact, as The LATimes reports, the Air Transport Association says air travel this Thanksgiving is down 10-percent as compared to last year. 

But if you thought fewer people means a more pleasant experience, you'd be wrong.  Airline cost cutting has resulted in fewer flights being offered, so those planes will still be packed. "Make no mistake: The airports will be busy and many flights will be 100 percent full,” James C. May of the ATA tells The NYTimes.  

If there's any industry in need of an marketing make-over it's the airline industry --- and that includes airports.  But even the best spin doctors in the business couldn't combat the negative and often well-deserved image the airline industry has built for itself.  Still - they try.  Sort of.

Take for instance the Transportation Security Administration's new "family lanes."  As CNN reports, TSA has expanded the 'family lane' concept to every airport security checkpoint in the country, and will direct not only families to those lanes, but also people who have 'medically necessary' liquids and gels in excess of current 3-ounce limits." 

And while the "family lanes" were probably supposed to sound "friendly" to consumers with kids -- they actually come off as punishment.  As CNN puts it, the "diamond" or "green" lanes are intended for "travelers who are unfamiliar with checkpoint procedures, or families who want to go through security at their own pace."  Translation - S - L - O - W!

Here's a news bulletin for TSA:  families want to get the heck through security as fast as everyone else, not "enjoy" the experience "at their own pace!"  Admittedly, when traveling with really young kids who refuse to get in/get out of their strollers or struggle taking off/putting on their shoes -- the "family lane" is a great idea.  But for those of us with kids who desperately need to be fed before boarding the plane, you can't get us through fast enough!

And speaking of boarding -- I've always wondered why most "passengers with small children" accept the offer to pre-board.  Parents with infants - I understand.  But what sane parent actually wants to spend that extra few minutes trapped onboard a airplane in an inhumanly tight space with a squirrelly, bored, crabby, hungry, tired, thirsty child or two? 

I've always tried to maximize my time OFF the airplane when traveling with my kids.  Yes, you've guessed it....we're the "active" family no-one wants to sit near.  Can you blame me for hanging back at the gate until everyone else has boarded?  Besides, it's not families holding up flights.  It's people trying to jam shipping crate-sized bags into the overhead bins!

Thank goodness President Bush has stepped in to help solve the crisis.  (No, not the economic crisis - that still accelerates unfettered).  In an announcement last week, the President announced he has opened up military air space over much of the country, allowing commercial jets greater access to quicker routes during the busy holiday travel season.  This is supposed to head off delays and prevent "It's a Wonderful Life" from becoming "The Nightmare Before Christmas."  (His words, not mine, as you can see on YouTube.)

Although falling fuel prices have slightly eased the financial pressure on the airline industry, no marketing strategy can cure what ails it.  However, there is a silver lining this year for airline executives.  They look positively charming these days next to the auto execs - who got a lot of heat on Capital Hill last week for flying three separate private jets to Washington to beg for $25 billion in taxpayer dollars.

However, you'll soon be seeing them in the TSA line.  And they'll be easy to recognize.  They'll be the ones whose tin cups won't be allowed through security. 

"Who" Jackman?

We interrupt this thoughtful, reasonably intelligent blog to bring you this breaking, irrational rant:

People Magazine names actor Hugh Jackman it's 2008 Sexiest Man Alive?????!!!!!

You've got to be joking!!  What were the parameters?  "Sexiest Man must be the romantic lead in a soon-to-be-released $130 million major motion picture that Nielson tracking numbers show will be a flop but that studio execs will do anything to save -- including selling their souls to magazine tools over at People who know that someday soon they can collect on this huge favor."?

Even on The Today Show this week, People's executive editor Jess Cagle smirked and smiled uncomfortably when he said Jackman was "a surprising choice."

In the "article," People describes Jackman as "a romantic in a hard body, the Aussie star leaves women saying "Oh ... my ... God."  If People had stuck around to hear "women" finish that sentence, they would have heard "Oh ... my ... God.  Who wants to go watch a romantic epic with "Wolverine" in it, when I can stare at Daniel Craig in the new Bond movie for 90 minutes."

Daniel Craig, meantime, IS among the sexiest also-rans which also includes sexiest alums Brad Pitt and George Clooney as well as Mad Men's Jon Hamm, human-turned-dolphin Michael Phelps, and - in a shout-out to future People readers - High School Musical's Zac Ephron and Twilight's Robert Pattinson.

If People really wanted to sell magazines -- and in these tough times for print, who wouldn't -- a sure bet would have been to put Barack Obama on its cover - again.  Granted, to have the country's President-elect on a magazine cover headlined "Sexiest" is a little creepy, but as the NYTimes' political blog The Caucus said recently, hot news stand sales of anything-Obama "reflects the rise of politics as an entertainment theme."

As for People's "journalistic" standards - today's front page story in the NYTimes about how the magazine allows itself to be manipulated by the queen of the tabs Angelina Jolie, proves that getting positive press in People isn't hard if you know the right lawyers.

But back to Hugh Jackman--- or should I say "Who" Jackman.  I wish him no ill.  But I guarantee you, readers won't be buying up dozens of issues of the 2008 Sexiest Man Alive and re-selling them on CraigsList and eBay as collectibles. 

In the meantime, I'm going back over to 007.com and put up with the two minutes it takes the site to load to watch a little bit more of Daniel Craig.......

We now return you to "Wise Ideas," our regularly scheduled, thoughtful, reasonably intelligent blog.

Swimming with the Stars

Whatever Omega (the watch people) are paying two-time, multiple-medal Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin for her endorsement deal, it's well worth it.

This morning at 5:45a.m. - as part of her contract with Omega as a "Swim Ambassador," - Ms. Coughlin had on her Speedo and was in the Army's old Presidio YMCA pool working out with some 50 age group swimmers, most of who can only dream of making it to the heights that Coughlin has reached. 

But darned if it didn't seem like that dream was just a little bit more possible today. 

With just a two hour appearance including the swim, Q and A with the team, a team and individual photo session, and some swim schwag for the kids, Natalie managed to motivate every swimmer there to work hard and pursue their goals -- whether that be in the pool or elsewhere in their lives. 

Most times, a brush with Olympic greatness like this will cost thousands in appearance fees -- putting it out of reach for most, if not all, age group teams like The Pirates.  But because somebody knew somebody who knew somebody at Omega ---- this morning's swim-with-a-star happened at no cost to our local Y. 

Conversely, I would argue that whatever it cost Omega to allow The Pirates a chance to swim and meet with an Olympian, it was a small price to pay for the goodwill generated and the big dreams born in the wake of this morning's appearance. 

And Natalie couldn't have been nicer - perhaps seeing herself in the chlorine-filled eyes of the kids who hung on her every word.  And I would guess it's actually a lot more pleasant than swimming in a cheesy pool set up on Rockefeller Plaza for an appearance on The Today Show.

So thanks Omega and Natalie, for showing up at morning work-out and inspiring a whole team of Pirates, and reminding all of us that dreams can come true. 

Wired Moms Become Pain in the --- for Motrin

How many times have you seen a stupid, condescending, sexist TV commercial and wondered what corporate executives were smoking when they gave their stamp of approval for the ad?  Too many times to count?  Me too. 

But how many times have you actually done something about it?   Zero?  Me too.  I guess that's what advertising and company execs figured too -- until now. 

It seems Johnson & Johnson, the makers of Motrin, have pissed off the one particularly sensitive group with too much time on its hands and instant access to the Internet.  Moms.  In particular, moms who blog and/or Twitter - and all their like-minded mom friends. 

The offending web ad, which lives on YouTube, is an inane "mom-ologue" by a flippant hipster mom who's got some back pain due to her baby carrier - despite the fact that it "totally makes me look like an official mom."  See for yourself:

Sure it's stupid.  But some members of the target market out there found it sooooo horribly offensive that they launched a Twitter campaign to put an end to the ad.  According to Ad Age, "the beginning of the end for the Motrin push probably came (last) Friday night, when Los Angeles blogger Jessica Gottlieb said she was tipped off to the ads and started expressing her outrage over the campaign on Twitter, where she has 1,018 followers."

And as Forbes.com reports, the resulting flood of scathing Twitters, or Tweets, or whatever they're called - prompted J&J to take down its Motrin.com website for two days.  Now the site is back up and here's what it says:

"With regard to the recent Motrin advertisement, we have heard you.  On behalf of McNeil Consumer Healthcare and all who work on the Motrin Brand, please accept our sincere apology.  We have heard your concerns about the ad that was featured on our website.  We are parents ourselves and we take feedback from moms very seriously.  We are in the process of removing this ad from all media.  It will, unfortunately, take a bit of time to remove it from our magazine advertising, as it is on newstands and in distribution.  Thank you for your feedback.  It's very important to us."

Sincerely, Kathy Widmer/Vice President of Marketing/McNeil Consumer Healthcare"

So --- as a mom who carried both her now-older kids in Baby Bjorns for a few years, you might assume I'd be all a-twitter (pardon the pun) about the power of the mom and the comeuppance of some arrogant executives who thought the ad was clever.

But you'd be wrong.  Instead, I'm a little flummoxed about the whole matter on several fronts:

1)  Did J&J run this campaign by a focus group?  Were there actually any moms with infants in the room at the time?

2)  Why pick on the Motrin ad and not the equally inane commercial by the Corn Refiners Association in which a mini mommy war over high fructose corn syrup erupts over cupcakes at a birthday party?

3)  If feminists got on their soapbox over every sexist and demeaning beer ad on TV, they'd be branded as humorless witches (but with a "b") and wouldn't be taken seriously when it really counted.  The same thing could happen to moms, thus actually reducing their influence.

4)  And speaking of influence, wired moms should save their juice for something that realllllllly matters, like health care reform, or public school funding.  Imagine if the "voices" used to bring the Motrin ad down were used instead on education reform. 

and 5)  Who cares about an ill-conceived web ad????!!!!!!!  I mean, in the big picture, how high should something like that actually rank on your priority list?

In this wired world, instant reaction on a large scale is something politicians, corporations, and the rest of us are just getting used to.  Obviously, the art is knowing when to take all this chatter seriously and when not to.

Regardless, I would hate to see us moms lose our newly-discovered and highly-respected voices on things that - in the long run - don't directly impact our lives.  So - from a mom with slightly older children and obviously thicker skin, to those twittering moms of carrier-sized babies - I've got this advice:  keep things in perspective and keep your sense of humor.  You'll need it raising those babies!

A Less-Bloody-and-More-Green Era in Packaging

What Christmas is complete without dad screaming the F-word as he stomps around looking for an ax to free some Bratz dolls from their manufacturer's prison.

We've all been there - whether it's trying to peel the plastic back from and untwist a bunch of tiny My LIttle Pet Shop accessories, or prying open an impenetrable plastic clamshell to get at a pair of high-tech headphones. 

Without fail --- someone ends up getting hurt.  It's a Christmas tradition!  And it apparently even has a name:  wrap rage.  I think the (now legally-challenged) high tech executive Mark Cuban said it best on his blog, after drawing blood while opening a Seagate hard drive from its packaging:  "WHO THE F*** DESIGNED THE PACKAGING ON THIS THING AND WHY DO THEY STILL HAVE A JOB !!!!!"

Well, it seems some manufacturers AND one online superstore are trying to staunch the holiday blood flow with some new packaging ideas that just might become trends.  As CNET reported recently, a packaging company called MeadWestvaco has redesigned the traditional plastic clamshell enclosures in which most high-tech toys are sold. 

According to CNET, the new packaging, called Natralock, "is better for the environment (half the plastic of clamshell); isn't totally impossible to open; and won't put you in danger of slicing yourself."  CNET's Josh Lowensohn even made this nifty little video and posted it on YouTube, demonstrating the "ease" of Natralock packaging - although there was a small struggle as you can see for yourself.

On its website, Natralock claims to be a much greener packaging solution than the old clamshell, because it uses "50-60 percent less plastic on average than clamshells—enabling manufacturers to achieve bolder graphics, reduce production costs and improve the consumer's experience without compromising security, durability or visibility."

Also looking to green his image and reduce wrap rage, is Amazon.com's Jeff Bezos, who recently unveiled a multi-year "Frustration-Free Packaging Initiative."  “I shouldn’t have to start each Christmas morning with a needle nose pliers and wire cutters,” Bezos, the father of four little kids, tells the NYTimes.

Starting this month, Amazon is working with some of its major retailers including Mattel, Fisher Price and Microsoft- to ship some of their best-selling products to Amazon in plain, recyclable cardboard boxes, which will in turn be sent to you.  Oh so simple, oh so green...or brown as it were.

I'm willing to bet scores of other companies won't be far behind in finding that shipping sweet spot between anti-theft and anti-consumer packaging. Frankly, I'm surprised this hasn't happened sooner - as I wrote in my old blog, The Kitchen Think, more than a year ago in a post I called "Packaging Gone Wild!"

But I must admit, there's a little part of me that's  going to miss that point on Christmas morning when the blood flows and the swearing starts.  That's when I usually creep quietly off to the kitchen to get a calming nip of Christmas cheer. 

I guess I'll have to find another excuse this year - perhaps when the sibling bickering begins.  That's something no-one will ever find a solution to.

Recession 2008: The Return of Customer Service?

If a Banana Republic skirt, regularly $89.95 - now slashed to $9.95, can't raise consumer confidence, what can?

That was the question a number of us former consumers asked ourselves recently, as we marveled at the deal a fellow former consumer was wearing last week.  "It was like they were paying me to take it out of the store," she crowed.

Welcome to Holiday Season Recession Style....where if you're not paying 40% off - you're paying too much.

As NBC, AdAge, and every other news outlet in the country has been reporting, the deep discounts retailers usually offer only in the last hours before and in the days following Christmas, are in effect now.  Analysts are saying it's going to be the worst holiday shopping season, from a retail perspective, in 25 years.

The National Retail Federation predicts customers will spend about 1.9 percent more on holiday shopping than they did last year -- the lowest increase in planned spending since the federation began its annual survey of customers in 2002.  But that survey was taken in late September.  And as you know, things have gotten a lot worse since then.  

“No one is canceling Christmas because money is tight, but consumers will be sticking to their budgets and looking for good deals when deciding where to spend this holiday season," says NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin.  Looking for good deals?  I've got news for Ms. Mullin.  You don't have to go looking for good deals...good deals are looking for us.  In fact, retailers are literally begging shoppers to come back to the mall by offering crazy good deals by spamming them with continual e-flyers and coupons by mail.

Which begs the question - if retailers can "afford" to slash prices by 60%, have we all been paying ridiculously marked-up price all these years, or what?

I don't mean to pick on poor retailers.  That smell coming from the mall these days is not the grease from Hot Dog on a Stick - but rather merchandise that's been rotting on the racks since early last summer.

You can sense the fear and desperation by the increased quality of customer service.  My 8-year old daughter even noticed the difference last week at the mall, when she asked why an attentive sales assistant "was being so nice to us?"  Apparently, in her lifetime, my child has never actually witnessed first hand what good consumer service looks or feels like. 

Wouldn't it be ironic that to get better service, all consumers had to do was NOT spend money?  Maybe there's a lesson to be learned from this near-death experience many retailers are going through.  Maybe the key to building consumer confidence is not just offering great deals, but giving great customer service as well. 

After years of indifferent or even non-existent customer service, that really would be change we could believe in.  

Logistics and Fulfillment, Baby!

Ahh Friday.  The calm before the storm.

Our family is facing one of those weekends that happens every couple of weeks when the social and the sports activity calendars collide to form the perfect scheduling storm.  Or should I just be honest and call it a nightmare.

Two soccer games at the same time but NOT at the same field.  Two end-of-season soccer parties also at the same time but NOT the same location.  A playdate and sleepover for my 8-year old daughter.  An evening birthday party for my 11-year old son. And a 50 mile drive north on a dark, twisty two-lane highway for a swim meet.  And that's just Saturday!

For a lot of parents with older kids, this is a common weekend schedule.  My husband only half-jokingly calls it "logistics and fulfillment," as in "what did you do over the weekend?"  And because my husband is traveling on business all next week, I won't really see him between today and next Friday, because we'll have to "split up" in order to meet the aforementioned weekend obligations.  

This explains why I had to chuckle when I read The Wall Street Journal's working parent blog called "The Juggle."  "One night last week I missed my three-month-old son’s bedtime for the first time. Oh, and I slept through the conclusion of the election," writes Emily Friedlander in a post titled  "Confessions of a Juggle Newbie."

Friedlander, who just returned to work after having her first child, sounds absolutely crushed over missing her baby's bedtime - and far less distressed about missing Obama's victory speech.  But the entire post struck me as blissfully naive --- the same exact state I was in 11 years ago.  The same exact state you were probably in with your first one.

For new working parents, "the juggle" is all about balancing work and life in order not to miss a second of your baby's developmental progress.  Multiple kids and 10 years later --- it becomes all about missing stuff.  For instance, during this weekend's juggle, I'll be missing my son's final tournament soccer match and party in order to be with my daughter at her game and party.  And my husband will be missing my son's swim meet in order to taxi and entertain my daughter.  And we'll both be missing each other!

As families grow older, "The Juggle" as we've come to call the whole balancing act, is about so much more than just the work/life equilibrium.  It's about finding a rational way to meet every member's wants and needs - which also means deciding what can be sacrificed without any permanent damage (and I'm sorry, but missing a birthday party won't KILL my son, although he acts like it will).

So back to Emily Friedlander, who ends her post by saying she'd "love to hear about your first taste of the juggle and the lessons that you learned–or didn’t.  Are there other things that you’re always be striving to keep pace with?  Share your experiences."

Emily, I've got two words for you.  Logistics and fulfillment, baby.....logistics and fulfillment.

Have a safe and sane weekend.

Bottom Feeders Begging for Dollars

PTAs are the plankton of the philanthropic ocean...bottom feeders who, according to WikiAnswers, actually end up consuming one another in an attempt to survive. 

I came up with this analogy as I was reading the NYTimes' special section this week on "Giving." The section features dozens of articles with one main theme:  how will non-profits and charities survive when times are tough and donations are down?  From food banks to huge foundations -- non-profits nationwide are tightening their belts and developing creative fund raising methods.

But the groups featured in the Times Giving section were all large, mostly recognizable organizations.  What of all of us PTA plankton who, even in good times, struggle to get $25 here and $50 there in order to keep a P.E. teacher employed or markers in the kindergarten classrooms? 

Bake sales just aren't enough to pay for what's lacking these days in public schools - that is - if it's even legal to have a bake sale in your kid's school anymore.

As the chairperson of the annual auction at my children's public school this year, I am particularly freaked out by the prospect of running the school's largest single fundraiser in such lean times.   Ever since last fall when the recession started hitting the middle class - I've been waiving the warning flag at PTA meetings - urging parents and faculty NOT to expect such fabulous profits from the auction has we have enjoyed in the past.

Not to gloat - in fact I wish I'd been wrong - but I was right.  At last spring's auction which I also chaired, our school saw a 20-percent decline from the year before, with higher food costs eating into our total.

This year, I am again the maniac at the meeting begging parents not to put all their fund raising eggs in the auction basket - as I am fearful of even smaller auction revenue come March 2009. And unfortunately, hope and hard work are not things we can actually bank on. 

We are going to have to count on our community of local merchants and businesses -- which are all struggling as well -- to come through for us.  And as usual, we are also going to have to count on the generosity of our own parent community to dig even deeper into their empty wallets to pay for things once considered "basics" at public schools.  As The Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch reports this week, "local PTAs in California are being asked to raise millions of dollars to backfill programs and services in the face of massive budget cuts to schools."  Welcome to my world.

In the election just ended, average Americans came out of the woodwork to donate money, knock on doors and make phone calls for their candidates and issues.  The outpouring of volunteerism was unlike anything I'd ever seen in my lifetime.  As I mentioned in a blog just last week called Change We Can Participate In, in this post-election world it would be a shame to let all this civic energy go to waste.

The question remains though, how to plug into that spirit within our own communities - and get it to work for the plankton of the philanthropic ocean?  Because while everyone seems to agree that our public education system is broken and needs to be fixed -- few with the where-with-all to do anything about it actually reach down to the people holding the system together - the PTAs - to give them a helping hand.   

And conversely, the PTAs - peopled by stressed-out working parents who volunteer "on the side" - do not have the bandwidth to seek and solicit the "big fish" they really need to keep their schools together until real help can arrive, if it ever really does.  NYTimes Op-Ed columnist Nicholas Kristof writes today that President-elect Obama has ranked education fifth among his priorities.  "If it is being downplayed, that’s a mistake," Kristof says.  Here we go again......

However, as I learned from WikiAnswers and from Al Gore, when the plankton die off - the bigger fish which survive on the plankton start dying as well.  And then - well - you get the picture. 

Even though times are tough, we can't afford to let our public schools wither away and die while politicians debate over how to restructure the system.  Public schools need help now.  Contact your local PTA or just walk into your neighborhood school.  They'd be happy to take a $25 donation. And if you get a solicitation for a local school auction in your mail, please contribute something.

We plankton may not be able to catch any big fish --- but some smaller fish will do just fine.