The news that we – us taxpayers, remember? – will be footing the bill for a replacement slide at Chuckie Harris Park came as quite a shock to a good number of us. Particularly in light of the fact that the existing defunct one is not that old to begin with.

To salt the wound further, it came to light that the price tag for said playground accessory would be no less than $17,000.

$17,000? For a playground slide? How many of us have uncles or sisters-in-law who could do the job for $37.50? Throw in a Leone’s sub for lunch and they’ll make it play “Que Sera, Sera” as sweet and pretty as a dime store jewelry box.

Now. Just how far does a joke have to be taken before somebody cracks a smile and admits that enough is enough? That it was all a big put on.

Seriously, though, we realize that good playground equipment has to be well built and made of the finest materials available within a given budget. It’s just that the sticker price on this baby is sending shock waves through just about everybody’s purse strings.

And whatever happened to “built to last” and the concept of resilience and indestructibility. How many of us as kids played on monkey bars and swing sets that a Hiroshima blast could not knock down? Some of them may still be standing. Somewhere.

At the very least, a $17,000 automobile would have a 5-year warranty. Parts and labor. So why are we getting stuck with this bill?

Ours is not to reason why, we suppose. Ours is but to just roll with it.