Many people consider certain tunes to provide the soundtrack to their lives. Older people will remember where they were when Elvis died. And then there are the milestones: first step, first kiss, maybe marriage and parenthood. There's also, unavoidably, death and taxes.
But like a river that never stops flowing, or a mosquito that just won't leave your ear alone, parallel to it all runs the reliably never-ending conflict between the province and the B.C. Teachers Federation.
Here's a history quiz: What's longer, the infamous feud between the Hatfields and McCoys, or the feud between the BCTF and government? The Hatfields and McCoys went at it between 1863 and 1891, no doubt annoying everyone else in West Virginia and Kentucky to tears in the process.
The BCTF and provincial government, on the other hand, have been engaging in small skirmishes and full-blown battles, punctuated by the occasional uneasy armistice, since 1918.
This week the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which is by no means a lightweight union, arrived at - gasp - an agreement with the government on behalf of the 27,000 school support workers it represents.
But what do the teachers do? Vote 86 per cent in favour of striking, of course. It's like they're hardwired for it - it's in the blood.
Will this battle play out like The Battle of 2006, where an agreement was reached on June 30th, and on Sept. 8th of that year teachers ratified a settlement for a 16 per cent wage increase over five years, with a $4,000 signing bonus for each teacher? Same old, same old.
So far, the government and BCTF have earned a big fat F, for Feud. Certainly not for Flexibility.
The Now