Month: February 2013

The Valentine treats were flying off the bus today, fast and furiously, into the hands of smiling kids. I’m into day two of the handout and 40 treat bags are now down to 8. It’s going to work out perfectly as I’ve still got a few Head-Start and Comm School kids left.

We kept the sweets to a minimum this year and Steph did another masterful job with this little creation. I took one apart today, just to show it off to you…

There’s a card from Bus Driver Jim along with a treat in the envelope, and various Valentines stickers in the little box.

SlideShow (Valentine Treats)

The view from my mobile office changes dramatically from day to day but some things are constant. Every weekday afternoon I’m parked facing the exit from the Victor Community School. I get here early to snag this spot so I don’t get caught up in traffic.

I was struck this afternoon by the beauty and coolness of this little dead-end street in Victor so I pulled out my camera and took this shot through the windshield of my bus.

As a professional driver who spends the day dealing with locals and tourists out on the road, I see it all. From the non-English speaking woman who was afraid to turn on a flashing yellow last week because she didn’t know what it meant, to the obvious texting person all over the road yesterday, to the brain dead woman I encountered today.

The roads were clear and dry heading south on Hwy 33 to Victor. I knew something was up as the line of traffic was doing 30 in a 55. One by one vehicles were passing the offending culprit up ahead. This is a dangerous two lane busy highway and everytime you’re forced into passing, you’re endangering everything.

Finally it was my turn. It was a small black sedan with local plates and I had a nice clear road ahead. I pulled up next to the vehicle to access the situation. A woman in her thirties, both hands on the wheel, staring straight ahead. Why was she doing 30 in a 55?

I then did something I never do, I laid on the horn! Her head turned my direction and her jaw dropped. It was a pathetic deer in the headlights look and all I can assume is, she must of been stoned, thinking she was really doing 55.

Driving on a busy highway like this is a responsibility everyone should take seriously. It pisses me off that so many people around here just don’t get it…

Dorothy is a born and raised here Valley Matriarch that I drive into town weekly to get her hair done. She owns a small house that resides on her sons vast cattle ranch at the foot of the Big Hole mountains. Dorothy and her husband were Mormon ranchers and they handed the operation down to their son.

The road to her house can be pretty dicey, especially after a fresh dump of powder. This morning it was simply calm, crisp, cold and compact.

We chatted on the way in about the perils of growing old (she’s 84) and the pressures put on her to give up the house and just be taken care of. Dorothy is as tough as this place is pretty and she will resist that to the very end.

Here’s a bouncy, deer chasing drive down Dorothys Road video.

SlideShow (Dorothys Road)

I was in the turn-around approach to the Victor Community School yesterday when I saw this. These teachers, and their students, play on a different level. You wouldn’t see this kind of creativity at the public schools!