C'mon y'all its Monday!

I'm sure the multiple stops at every single street are due to an overabundance of caution.  The bus I get stuck behind is for high school age kids.  I saw one kid walk right in front of a car after getting off the bus and walking down the street a little way.  He wasn't hit but I'm sure it scared the you know what out of him and the driver.  Most of these kids whip out their cell phones and immediately become oblivious to their surroundings or they have their other form of escape with their ear buds, blocking out the world.  Walking home from school was sort of an adventure for me and my friends but we are from a different time.  Getting home meant doing our homework and chores so we loved to dawdle and explore on the way home.  I can't tell you how many dogs I "found" on the way home from school. :) 

 Cathy, I meant to say earlier that I hope your friend is ok and you two can enjoy her visit.  I know you'll be worried about her while she's visiting but try and relax and have some fun too.

Jackie, your comment about finding dogs on "adventurous" walks home from the bus stop, reminded me of a funny story.  In my senior year in high school, I had a job after school working in an office that was about a half-mile from our bus stop.  I walked the same route 3 days a week; it was a fairly busy 2-lane road, but all residential, with lots of homes with big front yards. 

One house had a large shepherd-type mix tied in the front yard, and he always barked at me when I walked by, coming as close to the sidewalk as his line would let him (he was tied to a close-line type run).  I always greeted him cheerfully as I walked by, but he never stopped barking until I passed.  One day, he came running toward me as usual (not a dead run, more like a trot), only he didn't stop at his usual boundary.  I suddenly realized he was loose, but I tried not to panic.  I slowed my pace to barely moving, and greeted him in my usual fashion, continuing to ramble on, cheerfully telling him he was a good boy, I was just walking by, no need to bite me, etc.  I heard a car horn honk, and I looked to see my friend drive by.  He waved enthusiastically, while I tried to give some signal in my wave that said, "Please stop and help me!  Can't you see I'm about to be attacked by this dog?"  But he kept driving.  Luckily, the dog let me pass without incident, and he was never loose again after that.  I told my friend the next day in school.  He said he didn't see the dog or notice anything odd about my face or behavior, or he would've stopped.

I had zero dog experience then, otherwise I would've considered having a pocket of treats everyday and tossed him a couple every time I walked by so maybe he'd like me and stop barking!

Tracy, that dog was probable as surprised as you that he was free from his tie out. lol  He was so conditioned to stopping at that boundary he probably never considered biting you.  He was telling you to keep moving and you did.  So would I. lol  Your friend needed glasses! That reminds me of a dog incident that scared me when I was around 10 years old.

My childhood home had an alley behind it that was as wide as a street but unpaved.  I used to walk this alley and made friends with every dog in every yard except two dogs that were in the same yard.  They were mean and wouldn't take treats or do anything but viciously bark and lunge at the fence when I passed by.  One afternoon I was about halfway between these dogs' yard and my house.  I saw them running, full speed toward me.  I have never run so fast in my life. I made it to our gate and got in and slammed it shut.  The dogs kept running past like they'd never seen me. 

When I was a kid, I lived out in the country, so the end of my driveway was my bus stop. We were so spread out there was no communal stop. No dawdling and avoiding chores for me.

The buses in our current district have policies that dictate how often they can stop and how many left turns they can make. They also have a policy that an adult has to be there to meet the child at drop off. Interesting!

Yesterday evening I had friends over to play Settlers of Catan. We had fun but it was a bad idea, timing wise and we're all very tired today. DH mentioned that it really is a "Saturday evening game" after the fact - isn't he helpful?

JackieG

 Your friend needed glasses!

I can't imagine out-running dogs like that -- even at age 10, I wasn't that fit!  How scary!

Tina, having a bus stop at the end of your driveway had its advantages, didn't it?  You could head out at the very last minute, which meant fewer minutes standing in the cold or rain, etc. 

The communal bus stops had their drawbacks -- we had some very rough kids at our stop (we called them "hoods" back then).  Always smoking and starting fights.  They scared the heck out of me, being the geek I was.  One of them was merciless with his pushing and shoving us smaller (and female) kids out of the way as we lined up to get on the bus.  One morning, my friend Annie had had enough, and she swung her book bag (loaded with many thick, heavy books) over her head and across his back.  I remember freezing in place, thinking he'd punch her or something, but he was so shocked, he just got out of her way.  He never pushed us out of the line after that.  He seemed destined for a life of crime at age 16.  Wonder what ever happened to him? 

 I am not a fan of the bus stops every few inches (OK may be its yards) and agree that it doesn't help kids to learn any safety issues as pedestrians NOR does it prepare them to understand traffic patterns as future drivers.

I walked or rode my bike to elementary and junior high. I always played on team after I started junior high (7th grade) and often walked home in the dark - can you imagine parents of today allowing that! HS was a mile and a half, I caught the morning bus but pretty much always walked home after practice and games. I liked it. I still love walking...........oh yea you ladies know that hahaha I found it a really nice relaxing quite time. 

Anyway I just returned home after taking the guests shopping and to lunch. DH just said when are we going out to dinner??? I so just want quiet

Can't recall if I mentioned that I took B to the vet. I really despise the slippery floors at the vet, he was having such a hard time on them today and then when they took him for blood work he DID.NOT.WANT.TO.GO, so I had to help get him moving forward and we hit a snafu (aka an aggressive border collie where we were supposed to be, and an empty clinic room that had had a kennel cough case in it) so we had to back up and he wound up only on his hind legs and scrambling to not slide and I was freaking pissed off. It was such tight quarters and I openly admit that after 3 repaired joints I am extremely stressed when I see him sliding, extremely. Anyway they took the blood, he got some liver treats and all was fine again. I was drenched in sweat and very happy to be on our way.

Karen, that sucks that you two had such a bad experience at the vet's office.  I know vet's don't want to clean carpets but couldn't they use a textured tile rather than the super slick stuff most of them have? 

Callie, the buses I'm talking about are inside our subdivision.  Not sure you'd call it sleepy but not a major or busy street by any stretch of the imagination.  Very little traffic except behind the frickin school buses. lol

cakana

Well, when I was a kid, I had to walk uphill both ways in the snow ;)

hahaha, me too

Oh yea I already said I enjoyed my walks 

Jackie, same here, the kids seem to get dropped off at nearly every driveway and our community only has two exits and a 25 mph speed limit. Plus everyone knows each other so I don't accept its a safety thing, darn lazy thing.

The vet visit sucked, from my perspective. Very glad that one of the vet's and the tech that LOVES B, took charge. The vet said I'll do it right here and the tech & I settled him as they drew the blood and then we skated back out :(

Karen - I was cringing and angry for you regarding the vet's office visit. I'm sorry you and Bugsy had to go through that stress.

kpwlee

I so just want quiet

Poor Bugsy, slipping on the slick flooring.  Would he tolerate some rubber-bottomed booties just long enough for the vet visit?  Or, is there something you could rub on his pads that would give him some traction for a few minutes (I think I've seen something like that in dog catalogues).

Cathy, the "walking uphill, both ways, in the snow" comment cracked me up.  DH likes to tell the story of how his Dad would say something similar, only he'd say he had to ride a donkey to school in all kinds of weather.  The funny thing is, he was telling the truth.  My MIL has a photo of him sitting on a donkey when he was a very little boy.  He was born in 1925, and he lived in a rural, farming community, so it was probably a common mode of school transportation!

I was hosing off some of the patio steps and had one of those "oh crap" moments when I came very close to slipping and falling. Note to self - the tile patio is VERY slippery when wet.

Cathy, you and Bugsy both need some traction booties.  Be careful! 

Tracy, I couldn't deal with company so often.  You deserve a hostess medal or something.