It's been a wild two days on the school bus frontier. It turns out that a boatload of drivers quit over the summer. Wonder why? (heh-heh). So the rest of us are pulling double and triple duty, showing up at strange schools, transporting strange students to strange places. In the heat. My bus is air-conditioned, but it's also 8 years old and when the temp is 98, it's still stifling inside the thing.
Yesterday I drove from deep Pleasant Grove to MacArthur Blvd. in Irving to rescue a driver whose bus had broken down. This was during the afternoon rush hour. While highballin' down Stemmons, the "engine hot" light and buzzer came on several times and the temperature gauge was pegged out on 230. Water still boils at 212, right? I decided I'd keep going until I saw steam or smoke from beneath the hood. Finally got there and someone had already rescued her...
Today, I doubled back to Hood and picked up a group of very wild students and spent the next 30 minutes shuttling them to their various stops in far eastern Pleasant Grove. The warning light came back on after they boarded the bus, causing me to think that the light is mysteriously hard-wired to my stress level.
I'll give this a few days. If it doesn't improve, I'll change back into my starched shirt and tie, pick up my briefcase, and start substitute teaching at Dallas Christian. It doesn't pay nearly as well, but the environment has to be better. Just has to be.
3 comments:
I cannot even imagine driving a bus much less shuttling to "The Grove". I used to work at a bank in "The Grove" when I first went to college. Yeah, that was real nice there. I was the teller who got robbed there. It was so much fun (sarcasm intended) That area used to be so nice too. I feel sorry for the elderly that still consider that their homestead, it's rampant with crime now. Not the "Pleasant" Grove they moved in to 50+ years ago. Long gone is the sitting on the porch talking to neighbors. Replace it with drive by shootings and muggings. Crazy town! I say don the starched shirts and start at DC. Hey, your dry cleaning bill may go up, but your stress level should go way down. Best of luck on the decision.
Thanks, Heather. The "Grove" is a very wild place. I try to take care of business there and get out as quickly as possible.
The sad thing about the types of areas you are referring to is that they just perpetuate themselves. Seems like so few really want to do what it takes to make things better. You would think the school district would have had all summer to make sure buses were serviced and ready to go? Sorry it has been so stressful, may the Lord bring you peace in the midst of the storm.
Post a Comment