I think we are a nation of pack rats.

That's probably not fair. I don't have any data to support that claim. I just know how I am and I think I'm pretty average when it comes to squirreling stuff away.

It's really pretty ridiculous. I save stuff that has absolutely no value.

It's the clutter factor.

A look on the top of my dresser reveals the paper number sheet I wore in a bicycle race five years ago.

There are also several pairs of cheap sunglasses that I will never wear again.

There are several pieces of paper with loving little notes from my kids scrawled on them.

Do I have to keep those until they move out of the house?

And what about all those test papers they proudly bring home? How long do those have to be saved?

I think I know.

In the loft in my garage there is a box or two stuffed full of test papers and assorted school memorabilia from when I was in high school.

This is stuff that my mom knotholed when I was a kid. Then, when I moved away from home, she presented it to me.

I took it. I don't know why. I've moved it five times now.

So I guess that's what happens to that stuff. You keep it until the kids move away and then give it to them.

In my case, I really didn't want it, but I didn't have the heart to tell mom to pitch it.

I wasn't like that in college. I had five apartments in six semesters. I traveled light.

I had an old van and it only held so much, so I was always purging then.

I even threw away something I wish I could get back.

I went to lots of concerts when I was a student at Indiana State University. It seemed like all the great rock 'n' roll bands of the '70s played at Hulman Center on the campus of ISU while I was a student.

That all ended in 1979 when some idiot threw an empty booze bottle on the stage and plunked the lead singer for Head East. (I think it was Head East. I might be wrong about that.) Anyway, after that, the only concerts we got were acts like Barry Manilow. No more rock 'n' roll.

So I had a whole bunch of ticket stubs from all the bands I saw while in college.

I kept them in one of those giant pickle jars. You know, the ones you see at Wal-Mart filled with "Moby Dills."

There were dozens of ticket stubs in that jar. A chronicle of my concert-going years.

One day, when I was moving from one apartment to the next, it was the last thing in the apartment. My arms were full with the last load. I looked at the jar, paused for a moment and then walked out, purposely leaving it behind.

What I wouldn't give to have those ticket stubs back.

Maybe that's why we are a nation of pack rats. We're afraid we're going to throw away something we'll someday wish we had back.

Of course, 99.99 percent of the time, we're wrong. But I suppose it's akin to what one of our Supreme Court justices, William Blackstone, once said: "It is better that 10 guilty escape than one innocent suffer."

So I guess my words of wisdom would be, I'd rather rathole 1,000 pieces of junk than inadvertently discard one remotely valuable gee-gaw.

*****

Now that the Economic Development Income Tax debate has subsided for another year, I would like to clarify something that may have been unclear.

In one of my columns on EDIT, I stated that the tax would not affect people on fixed incomes.

I should have stated that EDIT would not affect people's Social Security benefits.

EDIT does affect interest or pension income.

I used the term "fixed income" as a synonym for someone living on Social Security. That is misleading. But I can assure you it was not a deliberate attempt to mislead. It was a careless generalization.

After the column ran, I realized the potential for misunderstanding. I assigned a reporter to do an "EDIT - How It Works" story. That story, on the front page, spelled out exactly what would and would not be taxed.

I hope that cleared up any misconceptions. But just in case, I wanted to also mention it in this column, since that's where the blunder originally occurred.

*****

And finally, I would like to commend Wawasee School Superintendent Mark Stock and his school board for their decision to make kids go to school.

What a concept, kids going to school.

Frankly, I was a little surprised at the backlash. Stock has gotten a few nasty telephone calls and we've had a couple letters critical of the decision.

Some parents are upset by the fact that Wawasee is asking students to make up days missed during the blizzard of '99.

Wawasee students will attend school on a couple Saturdays and the school year has been extended into June a little bit.

Angry parents have actually told Stock that they will pull their kids out of school on those Saturdays. Stock has also drawn fire because a couple athletic events (gasp!) were canceled.

Those who would argue that two or three or four more days of school isn't going to make any difference in the academic life of a student may be right, but they miss the point.

The point is about the message. Wawasee is sending a message. The message is that education is important. More important than a Saturday trip to the mall. More important than a ball game. More important than a summer job or a summer camp.

What kind of message are these angry parents sending to their kids? [[In-content Ad]]