Bus Stop Wars...or My Life in the Twilight Zone

I can't believe I'm blogging about the bus stop.

The bus stop.

But you know, its a place I have to go two times a day, five days a week.

And its like a Junior High Hate Fest.

Not kidding.

We started the year out putting our little treasures on the bus and nervously walking away. We didn't make it a week before the driver was throwing it in park and calling all us parents together for a "talk".

"You three base stops......"

She did not just say that! She could not have been uglier if she'd used a racial slur. Okay, well, yes a racial slur would have been MUCH worse but since we are too diverse in that category she pointed out our military affiliation instead.

Seems there are too many kids at our stop and they are giving her a nervous breakdown.

Please don't say that when you are driving my child.

Yada, yada......ok, yes mamam, etc.

About two days later here we go again. Put the bus in park and gather the parents. Except this time she's wearing a whistle. And part way through this "talk" she blows it at us.

The parents.

This time we hear about all the heart attacks our kids are giving her with their noise and falling out of seats. (I will refrain from going off on the overcrowded condition of this bus.) Please don't say that when you are driving my child.

Then they lose my child.

Then the supervisor gets off the bus one day. We get schooled that we need to stay 10 feet back from the bus stop and cannot leave said bus stop until the bus has left. We must stand there and wait. And she trains those that live on the other side of the street the hand signals that will be given to them to cross. And they brought base safety with them to do it. Not sure what his purpose was.

During this "talk" parents ask questions. The supervisor starts getting UGLY about how if we won't comply we will be "turned over".

Who said anything about not complying???

We aren't five -- we don't sit down and shut up just because somebody says. We ask questions and want to know WHY. This does not constitute a threat. Repeat: THIS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A THREAT.

Now, its decided to bring base safety back out to pass out fliers on bus safety. Hope he gets paid for this kind of crap. Not that hard to hand a kid a flier. He probably went home to his wife that night with "You won't believe what I had to do today!"

So then we get a new, second bus stop for the kids that live on the other side of the street.

DIRECTLY across from the original bus stop (we have a little shelter and seats, etc.).

On the side with no sidewalk.

So, now you have all these little friends running in and out of the road because they are directly across the road from each other....and you are making kids walk all the way down the street in the road because you make them get off on that side of the street.

So which is safer? Walking the length of the street down the road or crossing the street one time to get to the sidewalk?

Anyone?

And so some said no. We will be at the correct bus stop on the side with the sidewalk with all the other kids and parents. So now they are going to call the cops. Base Security. The Commander of the base.

Please, oh please do call the Commander.

Enough is enough.

And stop changing my child's assigned seat. She's getting really confused. Three times in as many weeks is a little much for my five year old. You are setting her up to get it wrong and cause another nervous breakdown or heart attack or shingles or something.

And stop hanging on to my child and searching frantically for her mother while I jump up and down and say "HERE!!!!" over and over...from 10 feet away of course. Asian child, red headed mother...surely you can remember that??? Its kind of different enough to catch your attention. Especially with our up close and personal time when you lost said child. I'm starting to think you are doing it on purpose.

This really is a twilight zone episode isn't it? Because its just too creepy to be real life. Seriously. I'm in my 40's and having school bus stop issues???

Except really I'm not....I'm just stuck in the middle of that train wreck five days a week.

I'd like to tell all the ladies to give up and stop complaining to the powers that be. They aren't going to get any satisfaction. The supervisor is brand new to this depot and she is hanging on to her job just as hard as the driver. Ever heard of CYA??? They've circled the wagons and are trying their best to make the parents into demon's.

But they drew first blood in a Rambo kind of crowd.

What were they thinking?