field trip

My field trip yesterday was fine.  I took the Speech Team to the conference finals to a school is about an hour away.  It's expressway driving so I was glad for that because I have to take the State Skills test again, so the practice was good for me. I drove a brand new bus again, and the breaks are very touchy.  My daughter went with as she was timing for the team.  Alot of the kids I have known since they were little so it was fun to see them.  Actually the coach was just starting teaching at the school when I was still there in the 70's so that was interesting too.  Driving a different bus is like getting into someone else's car and driving it.  Everybody has their buses set up for them, and they have their supplies put into different spots.  This driver goes on a lot of sports trips so it was kind of dirty, but I swept it a up.  After my drop off I got to listen to the radio on the way home.  Not all buses have radios, but this one is pretty nice.  We are NOT allowed to have the radio on with passengers on the bus because a few years ago a bus got hit by a train when the driver didn't hear it.  She had the radio on the kids were talking when she went over the tracks and the stoplight on the other side turned red, the rear of her bus was still on the tracks.  Killed some kids too.  That accident really changed a lot of how the State of Illinois handles Railroad crossings and School Buses.  We are required to stop at all crossings with our hazards on with the window and the service door open.  Saves lifes that way if a train should by chance be coming and the gates don't go down.

I went back in the evening to get the Team and saw my neighbor, she was judging.  It was nice to see her doing so well.  On the way home they were all excited as they had taken first place, I had to leave the lights inside on so they could look at their score sheets.  It was a nice trip and although I didn't feel well it worked out fine.

Til then take care...