Can it get any worse?

In reply to dean1484 :

Modern buses are all automatic. 

This all brings back memories.  After I retired from City Service, I drove School Buses for 12 years.   More highs than lows, and at times very rewarding.  Winters stunk.  0430 dig out your vehicle.  Drive in crappy conditions.  0500, dig out your Bus.  0545 start your AM run.  Drive in crappy conditions, only this time with shiny happy people!   One thing that always got me.  NYC OPT would wait until the last minute to cancel School, if the storm was bad enough. 

Rewarding? Yes.  Do I miss it? Nope.

In reply to Dirtydog : my thoughts exactly .  

Appleseed said:

Who the berk shoots at a school bus? The bastard better pray he's never caught. They will bring Hell down upon him.

They got the guy about 1 minute (literally) after the 911 calls started coming in.  He and the bus driver were involved in a minor fender bender on a freeway where traffic was at a standstill because of the weather.  When the cops got there his car was still sitting ten feet in front of the bus.  The whole thing was captured on traffic cams, so they have video of it as well.

There was just one kid on the bus at the time (it was a mini-bus, one of those 12 person jobs), she was unhurt.

dean1484 said:

A true story. We had a bus driver that was absolutely fantastic at shifting. He would rev match up and down shifts heal and toe the bus to stop. I remember being fascinated by this. All other bus drivers would keep the motor as low in the rpms as possible at al times while this guy was reving the snot out of this bus.  The guy was so smooth with the shifting. He never missed a shift or made any gear noise at all.  

Nice!  One of my drivers used to race sprint cars.  It’s a good thing this was before GPS and cameras on buses.

In reply to stuart in mn :

Good. Berk that guy.

It can ALWAYS be worse!

Appleseed said:

Who the berk shoots at a school bus? The bastard better pray he's never caught. They will bring Hell down upon him.

It was in Mpls near the 94/35 interconnect. They did catch him. He stayed at the scene and didn’t resist when police arrived. He was a security guard and was wearing his security uniform when it happened.  A MnDOT cam caught it and they’ve been playing it on the news here. News said he claimed the bus scraped his car in bumper to bumper traffic. There was actually one student, think 8 years old, on the bus at the time of the shooting. He was physically hurt but the mental trauma is a whole other story for that poor child. And the the bus driver to.

In an aside, about 2-3 years ago some crazed maniac threw a large cinder block at a school bus near downtown St Paul. Luckily no kids were on board and the driver wasn’t injured.

Other incidents where angry parents have tried to board a school bus to yell at the driver or confront a student are somewhat common in the core cities here. 

Bless ya Frenchy it’s not an easy job. 

My five years driving school bus had it's adventures but diving for OFA was much nicer.

canoe deleted

We’ve had enough snow already!  Please Mother Nature I’ll be good.  Could we please have some warmth and sunshine. Please! 

Tomorrow we are getting another dumping of snow. 8-12 inches. Or 12-18 inches depending on which radio station you listen to.  (Actually it depends on the path the storm takes) 

Then Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday we are going to be hit again!  Same deal with the storm track will determine how much is snow, how much is snow and ice, and how much is just freezing rain 

maybe I should have left the canoe?  It was guaranteed to {ahem} mellow you out... perfect for those cabin-fever jitters!

In reply to sleepyhead :

It wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t have to haul a load of kids around in it.  Parents calling dispatch if I’m a minute late in a snow storm demanding my ETA and upset if traffic and miserable conditions make me later ( or earlier) than my estimate.  

Then the youngest kids all hyper and excited about the new snow.  Ever dealt with 70+ kids hyped up?  Makes me wish a Had seatbelts and mouth gags. At least my high schoolers get on the bus and go to sleep.  As long as they remember to wake up at their stop and don’t make rerun part of the route because they were too sleepy to wake up and get out the first time I drive by their stop. 

Saturday afternoon’s storm on Sunday Morning 

more snow due Tuesday Wednesday Thursday 

May be warm enough for rain instead?

In reply to frenchyd :

I take umbrage to the not smart enough to go to college (serve in the military).

100% of Officers have college degrees. O5 and and above HAVE TO HAVE Masters and PhD's to be promoted.

40% of Enlisted have college degrees. Bachelors and Masters.

70% of Non Commissioned Officers have college degrees. Bachelors, Masters and PhD's.

The military is a highly technical, dynamic workforce comprised of all walks of life, races, creeds and socioeconomic backgrounds.

And I'm a veteran. I not only have a bachelor's degree, I'm almost finished with my Master's.

Intelligence and education are not the same thing, but often intelligence will seek further education. 
Only dummies think that the degree they got back in 1986 equips them for life. Just as dummies think that school is the only way to learn.

I have worked for intelligent people who never went to school beyond junior high.

I've also worked for idiots who managed to pass enough classes to be awarded a degree.

Guess who makes more money and makes the world around them better? Now guess who makes everyone around them miserable and when they screw up, are replaced with a Xerox of themselves?

Lighten up Francis. Frenchy told a story of helping a kid. It was a good story. 

Gingerbeardman said:

In reply to frenchyd :

I take umbrage to the not smart enough to go to college (serve in the military).

100% of Officers have college degrees. O5 and and above HAVE TO HAVE Masters and PhD's to be promoted.

40% of Enlisted have college degrees. Bachelors and Masters.

70% of Non Commissioned Officers have college degrees. Bachelors, Masters and PhD's.

The military is a highly technical, dynamic workforce comprised of all walks of life, races, creeds and socioeconomic backgrounds.

And I'm a veteran. I not only have a bachelor's degree, I'm almost finished with my Master's.

Intelligence and education are not the same thing, but often intelligence will seek further education. 
Only dummies think that the degree they got back in 1986 equips them for life. Just as dummies think that school is the only way to learn.

I have worked for intelligent people who never went to school beyond junior high.

I've also worked for idiots who managed to pass enough classes to be awarded a degree.

Guess who makes more money and makes the world around them better? Now guess who makes everyone around them miserable and when they screw up, are replaced with a Xerox of themselves?

You have got the wrong end of the stick.

 First I served a total of 9 years, including two combat tours in Vietnam.  I have nothing but respect for those I served  with and learned from. ( with the odd rare exception) 

My comment about he not being smart enough for college was only referring to things he said to me.  As a young foster kid going from place to place with no one to trust or guide him to a better future. I’m certain he gave up hope on a better future.  

I didn’t feel he was stupid. Merely, misguided.  Something I feel certain  the military is extremely well suited to correct.  Correct and provide guidance to a far better future.  

Now it’s true I spoke of things like wages and benefits rather than the true rewards of serving.  But speaking of lofty aspirations and high ideals to someone drowning in the depths of the foster care system is not the best approach.  

Gingerbeardman said:

In reply to frenchyd :

I take umbrage to the not smart enough to go to college (serve in the military).

That's not really true. I know for me and others, going straight to college wasn't an option. Couldn't afford it. I have friends that say they weren't ready for college, had to sow some wild oats and settle down. I can also fall in this category too. GI Bill got a lot of us the college education we wanted without debt. Paid for my degree and most of my A&P License. Majority of my friends fall into this category. GI Bill paid for our college, often while we had jobs to support our families. May have been older and degree not from a big name University but probably means more (at least to me) since we worked for it. Add that to experience makes us more rounded and better suited than many.

wlkelley3 said:

Gingerbeardman said:

In reply to frenchyd :

I take umbrage to the not smart enough to go to college (serve in the military).

That's not really true. I know for me and others, going straight to college wasn't an option. Couldn't afford it. I have friends that say they weren't ready for college, had to sow some wild oats and settle down. I can also fall in this category too. GI Bill got a lot of us the college education we wanted without debt. Paid for my degree and most of my A&P License. Majority of my friends fall into this category. GI Bill paid for our college, often while we had jobs to support our families. May have been older and degree not from a big name University but probably means more (at least to me) since we worked for it. Add that to experience makes us more rounded and better suited than many.

I was one of those who went straight from High school to college.  But I wasn’t ready for it.   As a result I flunked out. 

But those were the days of the draft and only 15 days after that my father got a call from a friend who worked for the draft board notifying me to report.  So I had 10 days before my notice would arrive to find an alternative.  In the end with every reserve place filled I joined the Navy.   Which turned out to be  basically a college program called NESEP  

A  way to get a college degree free while serving and prep to becoming an officer.  Great deal and I kept my GI bill education benefits.  ( and got another degree after the service.