Sewers

In my neighborhood, there was a kid who used to proclaim loudly that, "I'm gonna sue you because my dad's a sue-er!" whenever there was some sort of real or perceived offense made on his person. We always assumed this threat was unfounded, since we knew the kid's dad was neither a lawyer nor connected to waste disposal. Still, it was enough to give us all pause just before we continued the behavior that had incited the claim in the first place. We did, as ten-year-olds, stop to think.
That was forty years ago. Since then, our nation has became a country full of sue-ers. A Colorado man, despite acknowledging that he's lucky to be alive after being trapped in a submerged car, has filed an intent to sue his rescuers for half a million dollars. Roy Ortiz filed his intent to sue the county of Boulder and his rescuers because, as his attorney, Ed Ferszt explains, the county should have closed the road during floods in September. He said the first responders were also included because they did not realize Ortiz was trapped in the car until they prepared to lift it out of the water. His life, it seems, was not saved quickly enough. Mister Ferszt calls the lawsuit a "preservative measure." Interesting, since that's what the rescue workers tend to call their job.
A little further south, in Florida, George Zimmerman's parents are seeking damages "in excess of $15,000" and cite emotional distress and invasion of privacy from against comedian and former presidential candidate Roseanne Barr, claiming that their lives were harmed after Barr allegedly posted their home address on Twitter in 2012. The first part of this discussion would seem to be "what is the difference between being a comedian and a former presidential candidate?" The next would be, why is emotional distress and invasion of privacy such a bargain compared to being dragged from your submerged car by rescue workers? I guess it's all pretty subjective. Especially in Florida.
Back up the coast, in New Jersey, Rachel Canning has asked a court there to require her parents to pay the remainder of her high school tuition, living expenses, legal expenses and at least some of her college tuition from a designated college fund. She claims that she is on the honor roll and a cheerleader and her parents kicked her out and crushed her dreams of studying biomedical engineering. Her parents say that she voluntarily left the house because she didn't want to follow rules and had been suspended from school. Ms. Canning's future depends on a price tag somewhere between that of Mister Ortiz and the Zimmermans. I'm just glad I didn't grow up in any of those neighborhoods. I don't think I could afford it.