"Halloween's Full Moon"

One of the memorable and often quoted lines from The Godfather is spoken by Peter Clemenza after the revenge killing of Paulie Gatto.  Clemenza instructs Rocco Lampone, "Leave the gun, take the cannoli".  It's all about taking care of business and keeping your priorities straight.  All of us have heard countless lectures, sermons, and talks about keeping one's priorities straight.  By taking care of the important task first and not letting ourselves be side tracked by the trivial, we become more productive and successful.  A kindergartner was struggling as he came up the aisle.  It was the Friday before Halloween and his hands were full.  In one hand he held on to his book bag that was bulging with all the necessities of a day in kindergarten.  In the other hand he held the haul of candy from the class party and the special treats that had been so lovingly made by his teacher.  This alone was proving to be a daunting task but as he prepared to leave the bus another problem was making itself known.  His pants, ever so slightly, were creeping down.  Like most little kindergarten boys there was not much in the behind area to help keep them up and he was not wearing a belt.  He tried dragging his wrist across the waist of his pants, hoping they would somehow stick to his wrist and he would be able to pull them up.  No go, so he took a step down, the pants crept down.  Another step and continued slide.  He did a hula motion on the bottom step to try and impede his pants decent.  It was to no avail, as his feet hit the ground so did his pants and there before me was the full Halloween moon.  He was appropriately dressed with little orange pumpkins on his drawers.  He looked down, pants at his ankles, he looked to his right hand full of book bag that he dare not put down, he looked at his left hand with a bag full of candy.  The young man has a bright future in front of him with his priorities firmly in place.  He hung on to what was important and waddled to the house with his pants around his ankles.

"Stick To It"

A young man on the bus told me of the endeavors of a kindergarten student that was seated behind him.   I listened but I must admit there was serious doubt in my mind if the kindergartner was really up to the task that he was trying to accomplish.  I looked in the mirror and tried to locate the busy young man.  There seemed to be a lot of activity coming from his seat.  As we pulled up to the kindergartner's home he walked up the aisle proudly showing the results of his endeavors.  Much to my surprise he had accomplished exactly what had been reported to me that he was trying to do.  Thomas Edison was reported to have said, "The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are: Hard work, Stick-to-itiveness, and Common sense."  Yes, the young man walked up the aisle with an eraser securely glued to his forehead.  I believe he truly embodied two of the essentials that Edison had espoused.  I'll let you decide which one he was missing. 

"Just Kids"

Upon hearing Mr. Mucus give out a loud, "Good Job" I looked in the mirror to see who he was encouraging.  Mr. Mucus is not only a glass half full kind of kid but it's half full of chocolate milk kind of kid.  I found him patiently giving spanish lessons to the students in the seat across the aisle from him.  He started with the basics, "How do you say, yes?"  They replied, "Si".  "Correct" he said.  Then he asked how to say water.  They responded correctly with "Agua".  At this point he was so excited about the progress that they were making that he yelled out, "Super" followed by a series of high fives.  He then noticed me looking in the mirror and said, "Mr. Brandon, I'm helping these guys with their Spanish and they are doing GREAT!"  I gave him a thumbs up and he returned the gesture.  The Spanish lessons continued with colors and numbers with his students responding correctly each time.  You could tell how proud he was of their great progress.  I decided this was not the time to tell him that they were new to our school and had move here from a Latin American country and that Spanish was their primary language.  It also occurred to me that he did not see them as Latino or foreign.  He just saw them as kids no different from himself. Their hair, eyes, and skin were all darker than his but they were just kids.  Another lesson learned from my teacher Mr. Mucus.

"Radio For Help?"

For all my bus driving friends and those who have had to deal with radio traffic.

Bus: 8-12 to school, 8-12 to school..............

        8-12 to school, 8-12 to school..............

        8-12 to school, 8-12 to school..............

        8-12 to school, 8-12 to school..............

School: 8-12 are you trying to get in touch with us?

Bus: Yes, I have a little boy named John Jackson on my bus and there is no one home.  Would you call and find out what I should do with him?

School: You have a boy named Jack and you don't know what to do with him?

Bus #2: You'll be careful there's been a wreck.

School: You've been in a wreck?

Bus: No, I haven't been in a wreck. I have a boy named Jackson and I need you to call and find out where he needs to go because no one is home.

School: Just a minute............ Yes, we tried calling and no one is home.

Bus: Yes, I know there is no one home.

School: Then why is he on your bus?

Bus #3: This is 8-02 I don't have a Jackson on my bus.

School: I thought you said you had a boy named Jack on your bus?

Bus: This is 8-12 I don't have a boy named Jack I have a boy named John.

School: How did he get on your bus if he was supposed to be on 8-02?

Bus: He doesn't ride 8-02, he usually rides my bus but today there is no one home.

School: Ok, he is on your bus but you need to bring him back to school because there is no one at home.

Bus: Ok, I'll bring John Jackson back to school.

School: What? John Jackson, I thought you said Jack Johnson. Give me a second to call and see if anyone is at home.

Bus #2: This is Mr. Jackson I've been busy getting around this wreck, I don't have a boy named John on my bus.

School: 8-12 there is no one at home but they said if you could just bring their son back by at the end of your route there will be some one home by then.

Bus: Sure no problem.