Lincolnite

Sorry belly floppers, but a competition just for you at Mahoney State Park has been cancelled for "safety reasons". Lame! Or is it? How many of you who grew up in Lincoln heard the urban legend about the mythical "fourth platform" at Woods Pool? The story went that there used to be a significantly higher diving platform, but it was removed after a girl jumped off, did a belly flop, and her belly split open, spilling her innards into the pool? Gory, I know, but we elementary schoolers ate that stuff up. The story made the rounds every summer swimming season. Needless to say, it provided all the support I needed to restrict my jumps to the lower boards. Apparently these days the pool has to worry about impacts of another kind. Warning: do not try this at your local pool.

I have a difficult time understanding the mentality of people who sue over things that are, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, isolated accidents. Today's lawsuit: two women are suing separate Olive Gardens because they got sick after eating there. In this case the sicknesses don't even appear to have been caused by shortcomings at either restaurant; the tainted lettuce was apparently contaminated when it arrived. I guess Olive Garden should have boiled all the lettuce before serving it. Coincidentally, I got a stomach bug after eating at Olive Garden a few years ago. (To be clear, I don't know for certain that Olive Garden was the source of the illness. But at the time I ate very little meat; I ate chicken at Olive Garden; and the critter that infected me is strongly associated with poultry.) I can't imagine suing over something of that nature. If there were evidence of gross negligence, sure. But there wasn't. According to the Health Department mine was the only recorded incident around that time, and there was no evidence to suggest that my food was mishandled or improperly cooked. I'm all for holding people accountable, but let's face it: sometimes shit (literally) happens. Surely we can handle these simple issues without bogging down the courts.

Twenty-some years ago, working at Hy-Vee seemed like the cool thing to do. I knew several kids who worked there and they all seemed to enjoy their jobs. They got plenty of hours, the working conditions were nice, and they were paid well. ("Well" being a relative term here.) Oh, and Hy-Vee seemed like a much better place to work than the other hotspot for young employees: Amigos. I never did get that job at Hy-Vee, but over the years I've always had a positive impression about how they handle youngsters on the job. I don't know how old you have to be to have a job at Hy-Vee these days, but I know that they used to hire pretty young -- 14, I think. That was great for kids who needed money or who wanted job experience. Given Hy-Vee's experience with youth workers, I was pretty surprised to see that they were fined by the Department of Labor for allowing youth to perform "hazardous" jobs. You'd think they'd have enough experience to avoid that kind of thing. Youth employees are often on my mind because a favorite eatery of mine allows children to help out with tasks like clearing tables and even taking orders. They do a good job and I wholeheartedly support their presence in the business because of the lessons they're learning, and because their constant smiles suggest they're having fun. However I constantly fear that the restaurant will get in trouble for the kids' work. I know labor regulations are strict about this sort of thing. That's why I'm not mentioning the eatery's name. Then again, the kids' presence isn't exactly subtle. If the eatery has ever been inspected, surely they would have gotten in trouble if there were a problem. Perhaps the rules aren't quite as harsh as I thought. I wonder how many situations like that exist around town. I can't think of too many off the top of my head -- a restaurant here, a salon there. Perhaps I should get my boys started in the web development business. I could have my own little sweat shop development studio right here in the basement. Hmm...

I mentioned last week that on September 28 I will participate in Walk Now for Autism Speaks on behalf of my nephew, Sam. That event takes place at Haymarket Park. (Donations welcome!) This morning I learned that the autism walk isn't the only event in the area on that Saturday. The Lincoln Industries Cycling Classic is going to take place on the same day, and nearby at the Arena. That could make for an interesting clash of activity, depending on how many people show up for each event and where their respective routes go. I hope the organizers are in contact with one another. On the plus side, it's a sign that people are excited by all the activity going on in the Haymarket area. That's great as long as everybody can share.