FORT Koffee Klatch

[Stargazer]

*pulls up rocking chair* Back in my day, school started the Tuesday after Labor Day and ended about the 1st week of June. We got off the week between Christmas and New Year and only a couple of days at Easter. I don't remember ever having our school year extended for too many snow days. Getting time off for heat didn't exist. I went to school in Tennessee in buildings without air conditioning. When it snowed we walked to school. Uphill. Both ways. And liked it.

We did miss a lot of school for both snow and flooding, but I'm chuckling now remembering the things that we did not get out of school over. We didn't have A/C in my elementary school, either, so the doors were often propped open. We were out in the country, so this often led to all sorts of critter encounters. About once a year, for example, we'd have a termite swarm that would happen in about three of the classrooms. We'd all pack up and move to the library for a few days until they settled back down. Probably the wildest thing that happened, though, was that one day we were putting out things in our lockers (the old open, wooden kind in the back of the room) when my friend Michelle screamed bloody murder next to me. I looked over and there was a HUGE FREAKING SNAKE coiled around her books. We all fled to the front of the room while the teacher went to fetch the janitor. He came in with a broom and dustpan, picked up the snake with them, and calmly took it outside. We ended up having snake issues the rest of the warm part of fall, with one class even finding a bunch of little baby snakes holed up in one of the desks. Can you imagine? Nowadays, the school would be shut down for weeks with ten different government agencies combing over it.

[Lucy]

We had snake and skunk issues at band camp , but not at school.

What we did have was a sinkhole. Our high school was built in the 1950's, apparently over limestone caves, which ate a classroom my freshman year. So we spent a whole semester going on a split schedule with the middle school; we'd be in at 6 a.m. and out at noon, and then they came in and stayed till evening. The school board debated building a new school but finally just patched the cracks in the old one, and that's still the local high school.

[Lois Lane]

We had snake and skunk issues at band camp

One time, at band camp...

Sorry Lucy, I keep remembering that line from "American Pie." ... I don't think I could deal with snake issues...

[Stargazer]

My poor little elementary school was eventually shut down and turned into an illegal cockfighting ring. Since they were bold enough to run ads in the local paper and have people pay for parking at the gate, they were eventually shut down by the feds. Then it became a strange little flea market, but there were so many drug busts there (hillbilly heroin, don't you know) that it was eventually shut down, too. Now its a private residence for about ten people. It appears to be a sort of commune or something. Anyway, not exactly a glorious post-education history for my school, but at least its a colorful one.

[famita]

I wouldn't have guessed that's what they meant!

[veejer]

My elementary school was not air-conditioned and we did as Star's did, propped open the door. We were more citified, so all I can recall was bunnies and frogs coming in.

School started here in our district in NW Ohio last Wed, Aug 29. So they had a 3-day week, then a 4-week, and finally next week will be a full 5-day week. They've been doing that schedule for a long time. They get out the first week in June, unless the 5-calamity days are exceeded. We lose days to fog, snow and ice. It'll be interesting to see how it goes this year. We have a new superintendent and a new transportation supervisor.

[MRD]

The hospital that I was born in is now a flea market specializing in hispanic foods and wares. The old high school I went too, literally fell down one day about 5 years after we left it. They had been debating about what to do with it, when one day part of it just collapsed. Problem solved, they tore it down. Such a shame as it was a very cool old building and 3 generations of my family attended it. My grandfather's name was even on a plaque inside the front door for some reason.

[justCoz]

I grew up in NE Ohio and we had 5 days allowed for snow days. We lived in a city so rarely got any of those days off, but some of the suburbs would take more days. We usually started the day after Labor Day and ended the 1st week or so in June.

Where I am now in SW Missouri they start school usually the last week in Aug, although this year it was earlier and of course hotter those days. They normally get out the last week in May, but on the schedule it says the earliest day they will get out, and the potentially last day they will get out. They do that because it's common enough to have to use the snow days so they plan on not using them. If they do use them then the school year gets extended. Last year was only the 2nd time in 7 years that happened for my daughter. The first time it was only a day or two extended, but this past school year it was all five days.

I have been surprised though on a few occasions when they did call snow days because it wasn't that much snow really. But then I realized that the snow removal system here is not at all what it is in Ohio. We have it here, but it's not as precise or as well-executed. They have a plan, but of course don't need to use as much resources since it's just not as necessary. Since we bought our house 7 years ago we've only had to shovel the snow off the sidewalks 3 or 4 times. The snow is never that much, or doesn't stick when it falls. I'm sure that's why less resources are given towards the snow removal, but it is strange coming from Ohio (and Nebraska for a few years) where snow removal is an art form. The other strange thing is that school streets are not necessarily on the top of the priority list around here. I found that strange as those were always roads that were one of the first on the list.

Last year was the first year for a new supertendant that came from Colorado. He didn't call a snow day at the beginning of the season, probably assuming that it wasn't that much snow, so no big deal. It was his first snow here, I can only imagine his surprise. He caught a lot of flack for it too. The next time there was only a smattering of snow he then called a snow day. I'm sure he just has to learn how this city works. Of course then we have a natural disaster occur with our ice storm that knocked power out of some places for 3 weeks. Schools were out for an automatic 5 days and then some were closed after that due to the fact that power was not back up. They had to move kids around to different schools for a few days. What a welcome to our town!!

And I remember walking to school in the cold and snow drifts. That's another weird thing down here that they don't let the kids outside to play when it seems pretty warm in comparison to how cold it was before they wouldn't let us out. But a lot of the kids down here, because the winters are more mild, don't necessarily have the coats they need to be out in cold weather.

[prhoshay]

Did anyone see the girl on the news whom Southwest Airlines chastised for being too scantily dressed? I was all prepared to sympathize with her until I saw her this morning on The Today Show. She was wearing a close fitting top, and a very short skirt, ala Paris Hilton/Brit Spears. Wearing the same outfit that brought her problems, this girl sat down on the couch for an interview with Matt Lauer and....."I see London, I see France,.....yada, yada, yada.....!" If it hadn't been for her underwear, we all would have had a good 7 years bad luck!!! And that was after she had pulled the skirt down immediately before she sat down!!! Even Matt made a great Freudian slip when he began the interview, right after she sat down (I'm pretty sure he didn't see what I saw)...he said something like, "About your short shirt, uh, excuse me, I meant skirt...." It was too funny!!! Later, she was on another news show, and they had her leaning back against a barstool...not sitting like she had earlier this morning. :nono I would think that once the girl, her mom, and the girl's lawyer saw the tape from Today Show....that lessened the thinking of suing the airline.

Good Golly Miss Molly!!!

[Ellen]

. . . a HUGE FREAKING SNAKE coiled around her books. . . .We ended up having snake issues . . . a bunch of little baby snakes holed up in one of the desks . . .

Holy crap! Where was that?!! Remind me not to go there!