Although some may not agree with me, I believe that September and the colorful arrival of fall and the harvest are some of the most exciting times of the year, especially for our youthful generation as they head back to school.
Not only does it mean new clothes and fancy footwear, more books and neat new school supplies for those rambunctious boys and girls, it is also the first chapter of a great 10-month adventure into education, with lots of pupil perks, as well as weekends, holidays, and maybe even a few stormy days thrown in for good measure. As they head into those clean and cluttered hallowed halls of learning this week, all age groups from the shy first graders to the frisky teens can now look forward to meeting their new teachers, lots of new friends and fresh faces, school sports and dances, and maybe even a crush or two of ‘puppy love’ along the way with the sweet little lass with the pony tail from your ‘home room’ or the cute guy with the Elvis sideburns and dimples on the football team. Of course, these 12 or so best years of our young lives will involve lots of classes and courses and hard work in the three R’s and way beyond into the electronic era, a little homework, tests followed by report cards and parent-teacher interviews, and so much more. But then again, the end result as long as the best effort is given is a bright future full of opportunities, new adventures, and some of the best that this great nation has to offer.
Our vital role on the roads
I sincerely hope that each and every one of us drive carefully and safely all around our community and out and about on our highways and byways all year round, but especially now in September as the kids from tots to teens (our future) are headed back to school. It is most important that we pay special attention every second that we spend behind wheel and in all locations where we travel.
From this coming week and on into the next ten months or so, we will on many occasions come up upon a whole lot of excited children walking, running, or riding their bikes, skateboards, or whatever to and from school. There is no doubt that most of them are usually always in a hurry and have visions of fun and games and lessons and friends and lockers full of treats and peanut butter sandwiches racing through their minds. Look at it this way, when you see them out there with their parents or buddies, rain or shine, let’s all think of them as our children or grandchildren, and treat them with the same great respect and loving care that we would expect for our own. Extra special precautions must always be taken in school zones, where strict speed limits are in effect as the volunteer crossing guards are escorting the children into or out of the school yard, and where dozens of yellow buses will be dropping off or picking up their precious young cargo for something like 250 days of the busy year ahead. If we all travelled carefully through these school or playground zones safely and at the posted speed limits as well as along the roads and at the crosswalks throughout our community and in the rural areas, then perhaps everyone may get the message, stay safely behind us, and not panic about being a few minutes late for work, an appointment, or whatever. By the way the fines for speeding in school zones have now increased way up to between $181.50 to $312.25 (possibly plus demerits) for driving from 10 to 50 kph over the speed limit, and even more in construction zones, for distracted, careless and impaired driving offenses and all the rest. RCMP have launched a tough and ongoing effort to try and stop the carnage, get the idiots off the road, and to hopefully protect the innocent as well as the vast majority of those who faithfully follow the rules to promote and preserve a happy and healthy family lifestyle.
Now let’s have a little fun at school.
*Mother to Johnny. ‘What is the first thing that you learned in class?’ Answer: ‘How to talk without moving my lips.’ Best excuse note for not attending school: Please excuse Ray from school today...he has very loose vowels.
*’Hey dad, I got a 100 percent in school today....40 per cent in math and 60 per cent in history.’ ‘My teacher says that I need to write more clearly, but if I do that she will find out that I can’t spell.
*The rewards of school have resulted in many famous people. The Ice Cream man went to Sundae school, the surfer went to Boarding School, and King Arthur went to Knight School.
*Funniest answers from the Grade 5 and 6 Science question and answer test: What is your spinal column? The spinal column is a long bunch of bones where the head sits on top and we sit on the bottom. Joan of Arc was a famous lady for what reason? Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife...
Good luck in the harvest, with hopes that we can bask in the fall sunshine at least until November, while in the meantime, in between time, just go ahead and have a great week, all of you.