posted 08-25-2008 11:33 AM ET (US)        

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This was an ad in Tampa Craigslist. The kid needs a tutor, not a boat. Then again is this done by texting or something like that?

"i need help lookin for a skiff i want a skiff thats no 2 old but if is no bige i want a skiff that has a center console and is about 16 feet long with a motor and stuff that like ready for the water and is in good shape im 17 years old and love to fish so if u could help me that would be great please call me if u have something 727-919-XXXX thats my cell my name is josh

posted 08-25-2008 01:56 PM ET (US)            

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Contender,

"Did you say yutes?"

That's straight out of the movie "My Cousin Vinnie".

GREAT flick

posted 08-25-2008 03:09 PM ET (US)         

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Only the smartest youthz rite like that, Most of the rest of them can`t reed or rite hardly at all, and only want boats to paddle over to the lake islands to smoke pot or crack. They lern to spel by pronounsing the words, but most can`t do that to gud with that metal bar in ther tong

rich

posted 08-26-2008 07:57 AM ET (US)            

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"peacetime"

what country are YOU living in... ?

posted 08-26-2008 12:13 PM ET (US)            

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Here is the link.
http://tampa.craigslist.org/psc/boa/810884617.html

There is a "best of" section on craigslist. Good reading. http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/all/
I think we have a contender.

This sums up my opinion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8gsaDdqGzA

posted 08-26-2008 12:41 PM ET (US)            

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fishgutz - nice. very nice.

As far as this kid wanted to go out on the water - I'm just glad he isn't in NC.

It never ceases to amaze me that it takes a license and test to drive a car but any idiot can operate a boat. Every time I try to fish a Saturday on Raleigh's lakes I have to go out of my way to create distance from other boats - there's just no predicting what some of these young guys in their new high-hp ski or bass boats will do. There's a narrow part of the lake that's only 100yds wide with vertical rock banks where I like to fish. It's almost impossible to sit there for 30 mins on a Saturday and not get spooked at least once.

posted 08-26-2008 01:51 PM ET (US)            

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I would describe the average urban or suburban youth as someone who is unfamiliar with all manner of outdoor pursuits and activities. The only significant time they spend outside may be on a sports field. They don't know how to: drive a boat, drive a tractor, catch a fish, shoot a deer, split firewood, plot a course, fix a fence, change the oil in their car, etc etc. They think steaks come from the supermarket and salad comes in a bag.

Instead of being sent outside to play, fall down, scrape their knee, learn to problem solve, they sit up in their bedroom,(which has its own television) and play video games.

IN SHORT: they are completely unfamiliar with all manner of worthwhile pursuits, and significantly out of touch with reality. That's why I said, at least this kid wants to go outside and get on the water, even if he can't spell.

posted 08-26-2008 05:56 PM ET (US)            

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Much like a hot stove, matches, or any bottle brandishing the Mr. Yuk decal, prj's valuable lesson to his son was to stay away from the PBR.

A lesson never learned too soon. :-)

At my wedding last fall, we had to make special arrangements to bring in Pabst, as it is the beverage of choice of my humble in-laws.

You'll never see a Yacht Club Event Coordinator so struggle to maintain professionalism as when you tell him that you're ordering 5 grand worth of Fillet Mignon... plus a half barrel of PBR.

posted 08-26-2008 05:56 PM ET (US)            

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I agree with an86carrera's comment; this is probably a byproduct of texting and the "shorthanding" of the english language. The guy may be brilliant, but you'd never know it from how he writes.

I just finished reading C.S. Lewis's "Screwtape Letters" and he identified the problem with the American education system when he wrote it back in 1960. It's sort of a perversion of "democracy" and the concept that "all men are created equal." Basically, our whole education system is based around "leaving no child behind" instead of pushing kids ahead. We are not out to produce the brightest and the best. Instead, the pace of education is dictated by the slowest and slackest. Today, it's evolved to the point that intelligence is a social (and political) liability. If you're an intellectual, you're an elitist snob who's out of touch with the rest of the world. Stupidity is now the great equalizer, and if you want to fit in, you'd better stay stupid.

In the words of Screwtape "Let no man live who is wiser or better or more famous or even handsomer than the mass. Cut them all down to a level: all slaves, all ciphers, all nobodies. All equals. Thus Tyrants could practise, in a sense, 'democracy.'"

Being intelligent is no longer PC; being a moron, or at least appearing to be one, is.

posted 08-26-2008 11:27 PM ET (US)         

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Lars says; Stupidity is now the great equalizer, and if you want to fit in, you'd better stay stupid.

That is the only reason Obama won`t be elected president. America is too dumbed down.

rich

posted 08-27-2008 11:26 AM ET (US)            

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Well Frisco, I would argue that the the dumbing down of America is the main thing Obama has going for him. The masses are the ones swooning before his rhetorical onslaught of charming platitudes. The only other group he has captured with ease consists of folks who hate George Bush so much they would be willing to elect Pee Wee Herman president to get rid of him.

Let me be clear so everyone doesn't mistake me for a hardline conservative: No intelligent voter, be they conservative or liberal, democrat or republican, can in good conscience put that vacuous windbag in the White House considering his total lack of any significant record. If you are a democrat, Hillary Clinton would have been a much stronger candidate, and I personally believe that a ticket with her in the lead and BO as vp would have been unstoppable. He is very intelligent and charismatic, but in no regard can he be viewed as accomplished when compared to other candidates from both sides, and it is ludicrous to suggest that he is ready to take command of the biggest ship in the world.

posted 08-27-2008 05:01 PM ET (US)         

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"ready to take command of the biggest ship in the world."

I like that comment. george bush has run that ship hard aground. McCain thinks full speed ahead will get us afloat. I think Obama can get us back in the channel with some Intelligent finesse, common sense, and seamanship. Of course we`re in shallow enough water now, that the wacko right wingers can jump overboard, wade ashore, and set up camp somewhere else. Good luck to them. You won`t die of thirst, george bush has plenty of cool aid left.
rich