Certainly swimming is important. It could save your life or someone else’s but colleges which neglect the really important knowledge and issues of our time are not preparing their graduates for the world in which we now live.

It’s my feeling that there is certain fundamental knowledge each college graduate should have and if candidates for graduation can’t deal with the following issues then they should not be given a degree by any reputable institution of higher learning.

1. What’s the main difference between Britney Spears and Madonna? (I am assuming here that there is a difference)

2. How many children have Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had together?

3. Name two of the first four 'American Idol' Winners. (I thought a graduate should be able to name three of four, but a college administrator friend of mine feels that is too tough and should be saved for graduate school)

4. Exactly who is Jennifer Lopez married to and/or dating at the present time?

5. Prada or Gucci? And why?

6. What is the religion practiced by Tom Cruise?

7. What are the three most popular ring tones installed in cell phones?

8. What does a year’s subscription to People magazine cost?

9. Who is Jessica Simpson and why should we care?

10. Who’s the better actress: Lindsay Lohan or Hillary Duff?

11 (For Charlotte graduates only) What are the two newest stores at Southpark Mall?

Now, the knowledge contained in the above list is, I feel, absolutely essential to functioning in today’s society.

The following list is not nearly as important, of course, but if you went to a sub-standard college that didn’t prepare you for the real world, you might be able to fake it with these items until you can learn more about Jessica, Britney, Brad and American Idol.

1. Can you balance a checkbook?

2. What does APR stand for when talking about credit cards or car loans?

3. What do the terms deductible and co-pay mean when talking about health insurance?

4. When the bank quotes you a monthly payment for principle and interest on a mortgage, why is the actual monthly payment always several hundred dollars higher?

5. What is the difference between term and whole life insurance? And what does that mean in terms of cost?

6. Name five American Presidents before 1980. (My college administrator friend said this is too easy, figuring most people would get Washington, Lincoln and a Roosevelt. I agree, but said getting two more would be very tough for the majority of college graduates. He saw my point and said it was another issue to be dealt with in graduate school)

7. Approximately when was the Civil War and who won?

8. Approximately when was World War II and who won?

9. What does the term “holocaust” refer to?

10. Which gets better gas mileage, a Ford Escort or an SUV?

11. (For Charlotte graduates) name Charlotte’s mayor and at least one city council person)

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

“Mutiny on the Bounty” 1935

The two most famous sea stories are the sinking of the Titanic and the Mutiny on the Bounty. The story has been told many times in books and movies, but this 1935 version is still considered by most to be the best movie.

Starring Charles Laughton as Captain Bligh and Clark Gable as Fletcher Christian, it was nominated for 8 academy awards and was named picture of the year. Captain Bligh may not have been the monster pictured in books and in this movie, but the crew did take the ship away from him, he did pilot an open boat some 15-hundred miles to safety and descendants of the Bounty mutineers to this day continue to live on an out-of-the way Island in the South Pacific. It’s one of the great tales ever and worth your time.