But seriously folks

[Dave's Not Here Man]

When they cancel school for rain...... okay, hard rain.....

I've got no cocks in the fight anymore but still amazes me how a dusting of snow shuts the schools down for a day. Even the couple inches the other day was at most a 2 hour delay (the following day) when we walked up hill to school both ways. And for the record, I DID walk to school in Elementary and Middle, and both were way uphill one way. I can't remember one single time we got driven no matter how bad the weather was. 

Now I see people driving kids to/from the bus stops!! LOL old man rant incoming! 

[minx]

It was for potential black ice. It's a problem in more rural areas of the counties. According to friends out Hartwood way it is a real problem. But frustrating as hell for the rest of the county.

And the whole driving to the bus stop drives me insane - if you're going to do that, why not drive to the school itself? The only time I would accept it is if you were in an isolated development and had to walk a mile to the bus stop. One of Becky's classmates was in that situation - little over a mile walk down a very twisty road, so mom or dad dropped her at the end of the road for the bus. That I could get, especially in winter when it was dark - I hated driving out there in the daylight - too many blind curves.

Meanwhile, the Little Minx is getting frustrated. Her internship is with Montgomery County Schools and was supposed to begin on Tuesday. School has been closed all week. She needs the internship hours to graduate. I'm not sure how it works if she can't get them in because of snow. I think she's FT with the school, so hopefully it will put her over the top on hours.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

They called it for rain!

I see them sitting in their cars at the bus stops in this neighborhood. I see it in the townhouses around the corner. We're talking a block, two at most from their houses. And they sit at the stop signs. Hel-looooo?

So I can see where you don't want your high schoolers driving on icy roads, so instead of closing schools, how about closing the student parking lots? There is "black ice" everywhere north of the 28th parallel. Outfit the busses, prioritize the routes they take, and treat the roadways accordingly. Just like they do in all the northern states.

[minx]

Hahahahaha! You want parents to use common sense! Hahahahahahahahaha!

I. Am. Dying.

In all fairness, at the beginning of the year when the transportation was FUBAR, I could see parents waiting at the stop so they could see for themselves when the bus arrived (if it did). But that's been fixed, so the little darlings can wait by themselves if they're outside of 1st grade. Most of the parents (except for 1) stopped waiting when their kids went into 2nd grade. The bus stop was at the end of my driveway, so I stopped after K - why haul my ass out to the end of the driveway if I don't have to?

When my kids were in HS, they called because snow was predicted - 40% chance. But that was the year a kid was killed driving to Mountain View when he lost control on a slippery road.

I will say that I'm glad I'm not the one who has to make the call on whether or not to close school - has to be a pretty shitty job.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

I have to constantly remind myself that it's a different world from when we were kids and that it's not really fair to say one way was better than the other. Things change and we have to change with them. Something that a lot of people need to learn the hard way.

[minx]

Wise words. And many of the times we say 'Those were the days' we're ignoring the bad things about them - each generation and time has both good and bad.