Such a Good Example

While I was driving round the Bay yesterday I noticed a newspaper placard for the local paper. It said in their direct, down to earth method of getting your attention. TEACHERS,"BAD PARENTS" WARNING. Now both my parents were teachers. Has the local paper come up with some new research that shows that my parents were in fact bad parents. And I had always thought they were great parents. Well you live and learn. Even at my time in life. What a shame to be disalusioned in such a way.

When I read the article over lunch it turned out that a Head Teacher from one of our local primary schools was giving the world, or that portion of the world that lived in the bay and read the paper, a warning that bad parents made for bad children. (Click here to read the whole article). He had given up teaching after 20 odd years and is seeking employment as a lorry driver to get away from the cares and stress of teaching. Try bus driving mate, no cares or stress driving a bus.

Later in the day I drove into Brixham. It was early evening at which time the bus times change from day running to evening running and I had 15 minutes waiting time before I left. Waiting for me was mother with infant (asleep) in buggy and 4 year old daughter who was eating chips, french fries if you are in the US of A. Mother wrapped the chips up in the paper and came to board the bus. I explained that she could not bring the chips on the bus and in any case I wasn't going for 15 minutes so there was plenty of time to eat the chips before the bus left.

I got of the bus for a little stretch and watched mother and child. Child by the way was what you would call a 'hand full', taking not the slightest notice of what mother was saying. She started examining each chip before eating and discarding those she did not like the look of on the floor. Was I glad I hadn't let her on the bus with the chips. Now Brixham is a fishing port, which means seagulls. Seagulls do not carefully examine chips before eating them. If you don't believe me try holding a chip up in front of a seagull and see what happens. Just don't complain to me that it took a week to get the feeling back in your fingers. Better still get a Copy of 'The Birds' from Blockbusters. So lots of seagulls arrived in double quick time. So what did mother do? Explain about the fact that gulls are permanently hungry, have sharp beaks and big wings and can spot a dropped chip faster than an African vulture can notice a wildebeest falling over? Explain the dropping litter of any sort was illegal and untidy? Tell her that some poor starving child would have been grateful for those chips? Not exactly. Not even close. She called the child, this sweet lovable child, a twat.

Some time later in this conversation which consisted of mother shouting and child ignoring and me considering putting "Sorry not in Service" up, mother unwisely asked the child did she behave this badly at school for her teacher. The child said no. More unwisely still the mother asked why not. Child replied, "Because I like my teacher."

I then boarded the bus and started the engine. The three of them boarded the bus, mother presenting me with a day ticket. She could have been going on stop or all the way to Newton Abbot, which is over an hour away. Why didn't I put "Out of Service" up and drive away when I had the chance? The journey consisted of more of the same but included mother telling everyone on the bus what they are ready knew, the child was a bit of a hand full. They got of at Shiphay Lane which is three quaters of the way to Newton