It might not add up to a fortune, but I’m sure it may well aggravate those who feel that tuition is high enough as it is without the UA essentially offering a bribe of a dollar to all the folks willing to fill out a survey.

One such dollar bill came Tracy’s way this week when she opened a letter from the UA’s Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, requesting that she answer a survey on outdoor recreation in Arkansas. Not a bad thing, and generally I think that such questionnaires can be very useful.

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I suspect a lot of folks have already filled theirs out and sent them in. But enclosing a nice crisp dollar bill as “a small token of our appreciation” may be not have been the wisest course of action.

This just follows in the long line of folks who include pencils, address labels, and even nickels in their missives, trying to get you to enlist in their cause.

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First off, I suppose, you have to wonder how many folks they sent this survey to, and how many may have simply thrown it away as junk mail, thus consigning that nice crisp dollar bill to the landfill of their choice.

And as bribes (sorry, “small token of our appreciation”) go, a dollar doesn’t do much for one’s sense of self. I mean, as long as you are gonna send out money for filling out surveys, why not a dollar a page?

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I mean, that’s a nice eleven bucks. Hell, I’d deliver their survey back to them personally for eleven bucks.

But a dollar?

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A DOLLAR???

Save your money, dudes. The small token of your appreciation isn’t gonna make anyone that much more excited about about filling out your survey, which, I have to admit, has some interesting questions.

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And for those of a cynical bent, no, I never got one myself, but I’m not bitter. Not at all.

Though I could have used an extra dollar this weekend, I suppose.

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*****

Today’s Soundtrack

In case you think I sound Grinch-like this morning, well, perhaps that’s because I am working along to the soundtrack from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” featuring Mr. Boris Karloff.

And even after all these years, I still get a lump in my throat when the folks from Whoville hold hands and sing together. Because after all, Christmas day, like all days of good cheer, is always in our grasp so long as we have hands to clasp.

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And if you don’t agree, well, I suppose, like the Grinch, the best words to describe you may be “stink, stank, STUNK.”

*****

Now on YouTube – Poet Clayton Scott

My interview with poet Clayton Scott.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsFfzkWFBT0

“On the Air with Richard S. Drake” celebrates 26 years years on the air in 2017

****

Quote of the Day

A pun is the lowest form of humor, unless you thought of it yourself. – Doug Larson

rsdrake@cox.net

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