14 Hours Later...

I had a Field Trip on Saturday. It lasted 14 hours. The actual trip was 95 minutes both ways. There were 30+ Teenage Girls on the bus. Let's review... 30+ teenage girls confined in a school bus for nearly 3 hours with me... what could go wrong?

It was a total blast and the girls made me an honorary majorette. I in turn, taught them the "Double Dab Peace Sign" that my 8 year old granddaughter invented. They loved it so much they used it as their signature move coming out of their huddle just prior to their performance.

I felt so very honored to be the bus driver to all those awesome rock star young ladies and I felt even more honored when they called me out of the stands to pose with them and their trophies.

Thank you ladies :)

The Sleepover

Certainly you can remember those days when you planned awesome sleepovers with all your friends? You had grandiose schemes of making smores... telling ghost stories and of course... staying up all night. Well in today's bus conversation, I can proudly say that I had zero input and even less influence. It took place between 3 kindergarten girls and here's how it went down...

Emma: You should come over to my grandma's house after school and we can have a sleepover.

Gemma: I don't know where she lives?

Emma: It's easy to find. You just go to the white porch, then go this way and that way. You can't come in the front door because the cat will get out. Oh, and there's a dog who barks a lot next door. You can't pet him because he's blind in one eye and bites, but you can pet the cat, she scratches but only when you pet her belly so don't pet her belly or the dog.

Peyton: I want to come to the sleepover too.

Emma: You can come too but you have to sleep in the middle.

Peyton: Okay.

Emma: And you can't jump up and down on the bed. My grandma doesn't like that.

Peyton: Okay.

Gemma: And don't pet the dog.

Peyton: Okay.

Emma: And don't pet the cat's belly.

Peyton: Okay..... I don't know where you live?

Gemma: Not Emma's house, her grandma's house and don't go on the white porch.

Emma: She can go on the porch... just don't open the front door.

Gemma: Oh yeah, that's right. And don't pet the dog.

Peyton: You already said that.

Gemma: Oh yeah... I forgoted.

Times Table Takedown

I have a third grade student passenger who sits about half way to the back of the bus. Two days ago, he requested to sit right behind me after the students that regularly sit there, departed. He's done this in the past, usually because he has something on his mind or he wants to ask me a question. He's a good kid and I don't mind a question or two or helping him by just listening. The tables got turned on me the other day... or should I say... the times tables got turned.

TWO DAYS AGO
(3rd Grader) "Mr. Stuckey, what's 4 x 7?"
(Me) "28."
(3rd Grader) "What's 7 x 8?"
(Me) "56."
(3rd Grader) "What's 8 x 9?"
(Me) "72."
(3rd Grader) "Okay thanks."

YESTERDAY
(3rd Grader) "Hey Bus Driver, what's 4 x 9?"
(Me) "36."
(3rd Grader) "And what's 7 x 7?"
(Me) "That would be 49."
(3rd) "There... my homework's all done."
(Me) "Wait... did you just dupe me into doing your homework?
(3rd Grader) "What's dupe mean?"
(Me) "Tricked... did you trick me into doing your math homework?"
(3rd Grader) "Well technically no because I filled out the paper."
(Me) "But I gave you the answers. The point of homework is for you to do the lesson so you can learn how to find the answer yourself........ By the way... how did I do yesterday?"
(3rd Grader) "We got a 100%."
(Me) "WE got 100%?"
(3rd Grader) "Technically... yes."

Kiss and Tell

Everyday I drive the same route. I pick up the same students at the same stops. Everyday, one of my students, a 1st grader, goes through the same routine. It begins by First, kissing her dog BoBo. Then kissing her mom. Then kissing BoBo again. Then kissing her mom again. Then finally kissing BoBo once more. Today the routine was interrupted... not the kissing part... the aftermath. The young lady got on the bus with a disgusted look on her face and semi-spitting. I asked her what was wrong and she told me BoBo kissed her on the mouth. Evidently the experience was much more pleasurable for BoBo then it was for the 1st grader. As far as I was concerned......... I now had my topic of the day! Bonus!!!

When we arrived at school, the same children that come forward for our morning chats, again came forward. I posed the question...
"HAVE YOU EVER BEEN KISSED ON THE MOUTH BY A DOG?"

(3rd Grader) "I had a dog once that used to kiss my mom, but he died."
(Me) "He died from kissing your mom???"
(3rd Grader) "No, he got hit by a car."

(1st Grader) "I wouldn't want to kiss my dog on the mouth because he has bad breath, 'cause he doesn't brush his teeth."
(Me) "Well they say a dog's mouth is cleaner than a humans."
(1st Grader) "Not my dog, he once ate his vomit and he licks himself in inappropriate places."
(Me) "Yeah... I wouldn't want to kiss your dog on the mouth either."

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

A scientific poll was conducted today of 36 Baker Elementary School Students, by the Stuckey Research Center, and found that a whopping 100% (that would be 36 of 36) participants will be "Going to the Beach" this coming Summer. This does not bode well for "Camping" or "Learning a Craft" unless that craft involves sea shells, as 35 out of 36 students are going to the beach simply to collect sea shells. 1% of the students are going because their cousin is getting married in South Carolina and she's being forced to go. Of all 36 children, 0% will be swimming due to shark attacks. When confronted by the statistic that less than .0000037 percent of swimmers will be attacked by sharks and that it is far more likely to be attacked by an alligator in your backyard, the poll results changed to 40% of students being affraid to go swimming and 60% of students now feared going in their backyard. A follow-up question was asked of Mr. Stuckey of the Stuckey Research Center. "Mr. Stuckey, will you be going to the beach?" The students were informed that Mr. Stuckey will no longer go to the beach because the last time he went, 5 people thought he was a whale that washed ashore and kept trying to push him back into the Ocean. #FreeWilly

I'm Older Than Dirt

From February 21, 2017

After much speculation and scientific testing, Bus 24 has determined that I am indeed... old. So old (evidently) that I predate historic landmarks, the students school building and yes... dirt. It started quite innocently this morn, when an excited 2nd grader, Lilly, could not wait to share with me, the rock specimen she had discovered.

(Lilly) "Look what I found Mr. Stuckey!!!"

(Me) "That's really cool Lilly... it's a rock... a round, smooth rock."

(Lilly) "Yes Mr. Stuckey, I know it's a rock, but look... you can see growth marks (rings), it must be very old, at least 100 years."

(Me) "I bet it's even older than that... probably millions of years old and from the color and the ring markings, I'd say it was lava that came from a volcano and slowly cooled."

(Another student) "Is it older than the school?"

(Me) "Yes!"

(Lilly) "Mr. Stuckey already told us HE's older than the school."

(I did... and I am)

(The other student) "Are you older than the rock?"

(Me) "Sometimes I feel like I am."

(Lilly) "Did you say my rock came from a volcano?"

(Me) "Yes, Millions of years ago and erosion made it smooth."

(Lilly) "That can't be right, I didn't see any volcanoes at the swing set at the Legion Park and that's where I found it."

(The other Student) "Are you older than Legion Park, Mr. Stuckey?"

(Me) "Sometimes I feel like I am."

The Bus Driver Diet

From February 14, 2017

Evidently the kids on my Bus felt I needed to go on a diet. A diet of cup cakes, brownies, cookies, candy bars and lollipops. I'm guessing they want to bulk me up for winter. This past week alone one of my students moms baked a batch of brownies and gave me 4. Then another mom baked heart shaped cookies for Valentine's Day and I was the beneficiary of a 1/2 dozen. One 6 year-old brought me one of those Tastykake cream filled cupcakes. I said "One". As we all on the East Coast know,Tastykake's come 2 to a package. Evidently she got hungry waiting in the car, for the bus to arrive. (Needless to say, I'll be arriving at Her Stop 5 minutes earlier from now on). Yesterday I scored a Huge Hershey's Candy bar and today I got a Teenage Mutant Ninja lollipop. Now you can question the wisdom of taking dietary notes from 6-12 year-olds, but then.... they're the ones going to school... maybe they know something we don't!

Cupid's Boobies are Showing

From February 10, 2017

Now you'd have thought I learned my lesson earlier this week, when the subject of 'the birds and the bees' came up, to not broach such controversial subjects. You'd have thought that but us Stuckey's like to learn things the hard way... builds character. Anywho... today the subject of CUPID came up so I asked the "Future of America" (my kids) what they could tell me about the God of Love and Hallmark Cards.... the Red One... Sir Cupid.

(Ayden) "Cupid shoots arrows that make you fall in love with the first person you see after you get stuck." (Good start... what could possibly go wrong?)

(Tristen) "Cupid is a baby and he wears a diaper"

The thought of Cupid in Diapers was evidently some sort of giggle trigger word as half the bus broke out in laughter.

(Hannah) "Cupid is Seventeen Fourteen Thousand years old."

(Me) "And yet he's wearing that same diaper... it must be pretty smelly by now."

Big Rookie Mistake on my part as the whole Bus used my statement about a smelly diaper to start chanting... "CUPID'S GOT A POOPY DIAPER! CUPID'S GOT A POOPY DIAPER!" All decorum of decency had left the Bus and it was now my Job to quell the Chants and steer the discussion elsewhere.

(Me) "Okay Okay... Cupid's got a poppy diaper... I get it... what else can you tell me about Cupid?"

(John) "You can see Cupid's Boobs."

Again... evidently along with diaper... boobs is a trigger word for giggling among elementary aged children.

(Me) "Alright... that's enough... we do not use the word boobs on the bus."

If I'd had only remembered the sage words of advice from my dear departed grandmother when she implored me... When in a Hole... quit digging. Now the whole bus started chanting... "CUPID'S GOT BOOBS! CUPID'S GOT BOOBS!"

Where Babies Come From

February 8, 2017

Now I know what you're thinking. Certainly I was not foolish enough to have a conversation about the birds and the bees on a bus full of elementary aged children. Well you would be correct in that assumption... however... that did not preclude a gaggle of kindergartners from breaching that very subject this morning. Allow me to explain... one of my third graders is about to become a big brother and I asked him if his mommy had the baby yet. He replied, "No, she's still pregnant." Which prompted the following conversation among 3 kindergartners...

(Child 1) "What's pregnant?"
(Child 2) "That's when your mommy gets fat, goes to the hospital and brings home a little sister."
(Child 3) "No... my mommy brought home a baby brother."
(Child 1 confused) "Mr. Stuckey, where do babies come from?"
(Me) "Well... uh... ummm... I think you should ask your parents that question"
(Child 1) "It's okay if you don't know the answer... we won't think less of you."

The Unfortunate, Untimely Death of Woofie the Dog

From February 6, 2017

It's not easy being heard on the bus. What with the roar of the engine and 4 sets of heaters running, not to mention all the other conversations going on amongst all the student passengers. Yet, inevitably, one or more kids will try to cut through the chatter and bus sounds and I have to try and make sense of what they're telling me. Such was the case today. Lilly, a second grader, wanted to tell me about her pap, her mom and a dog named Woofie.

Now what I heard through the chatter was...
"My pap brought over a dog *blah blah blah* same age as my baby brother (18 months) *blah blah blah* My mom sat on him *blah blah blah*"

(Me) "So is Woffie okay?"
(Lilly) "No Mr. Stuckey, Woofie is Dead!"
(Me) "Wait... your mom sat on Woofie and he's dead?"
(Lilly) "No Mr. Stuckey. Woofie died a long time ago!" 
(Me) "I thought you said Woofie was the same age as your baby brother?"
(Lilly) "No Mr. Stuckey... my MOM was the same age as Bentley... my MOM is 33 years old now... this happened before I was born."

Ohhhhhh!
Now it's becoming clear. Her mom sat on Woofie when she was 18 months old but that's NOT what killed Woofie. Doing the Math... If her mom is 33 then Woofie would be like 230 in dog years so THAT'S why Woofie is dead. Now I told you that story to tell you about another story involving Lilly from last week. She and I got into a heated discussion about what you call mailmen when they're girls. I called them a mailwomen but Lilly was thrown off by the mixed pronouns and gave me a lecture on boys and girls. It even went bilingual as she told me I was a Senor and she was a Senora.

(Me) "Actually... you're a Senorita, which is a girl that's not married. Your mom is a Senora."
(Lilly) "My mom's not married, she had a boyfriend but he was crazy and my mom wanted to kill him (pause for reflection) Mr. Stuckey, I wasn't supposed to tell anybody about my mom wanting to kill him."

Well I for one wont be telling anybody about her mom wanting to kill her ex-boyfriend... I don't want to end up like Woofie!

Oh Say Can You Sing

From January 27. 2017

Our bus parks parallel to the flag pole so yesterday, as the flag was being raised, I felt it was my patriotic duty to sing the National Anthem. Now I'm not the best singer in the world but what I lack in pitch and talent I make up for in volume. I began to sing the Star Spangled Banner at the top of my voice with an ear piercing off key pitch that sent dogs and small children fleeing for safety. The students on the bus quickly begged me to cease my wretched rendition. But I was "tone death" to their cries. So despite the children's protestations, despite the howling of animals in a three block radius, despite the threats of students leaping out the windows into the freezing cold. I crossed my heart and sang the entire anthem... all four stanzas. Proud of my feat from the day before, I threatened to repeat an encore today. You'd have thought they cancelled recess from all the howling and boo's I received. It was a Mutiny... plain and simple. So we came to a compromise. Two of my students, a 5th grader and a 6th grader, sang "God Bless America" and they sang it... a capella... beautifully and on key. It was AMAZING! This is what driving a bus is all about. These little moments. I try to make an impression on the kids. Today... my kids made an impression on me.

Super-Baby / Kindergarten Love

From January 25, 2017

Super-Baby
Yesterday, one of my 2nd graders told me she has a baby brother and one of her favorite things to do with her baby brother is to lay on the floor and hold him up in the air and pretend he's flying like (as she described it) "A Superhero" She said it makes him laugh. Evidently it also makes him pee... she found that lesson out the hard way when she played Super-Baby with his diaper off.

Kindergarten Love
(Me) "Gemma... where did you get those big brown eyes?"
(Gemma) "From Jesus and God."
(Me) "Hmmmm... good answer... so what's been going on in your life?"
(Gemma) "I have a boyfriend."
(Me) "Oh yeah? What's his name?"
(Gemma) "I don't know."
(Me) "How can you have a boyfriend and not know his name?"
(Gemma) "It's complicated."

A Non-Belieber

From January 23, 2017

Today, before the bell rang, one of my 6th graders came screaming up the isle.

(Katie) "MR. STUCKEY!!! If you care anything about me... if you don't want me to jump in front of the bus and kill myself... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, TURN THAT SONG OFF!!!"

I didn't exactly know what song she was referring to as I was sniffing scented markers one of my 5 year-olds had placed in front of my nose. (another story for another time)

(Me) "What song?"
(Katie) "Justin Bieber!!! I hate Justin Bieber!!!"
(Me) "Well he speaks highly of you."
(Another 6th Grader) "He plays old people music that nobody likes!"
(5th Grader) "And he's not even American... he's from Canada!"

Clearly I was losing this argument but it's not like us Stuckey's to just give up... we're stupid like that. I decided to belt out the lyrics to "Baby, Baby, Baby" at the top of my lungs. It was at that moment I realized that not only was I losing the argument for Justin's Bieber's Respect on the Bus but I had also lost the entire Bus'es respect for my singing ability. Thirty-eight elementary aged children covered their ears and protested in a very loud... BOOOOOOO!!!

(Me) "Ah c'mon, I have a great voice!"

That was met with an even louder BOOOOOOOOO!!!!.

(Me) "My voice is so good, I should be ON 'The Voice'."

The boo's were deafening at this point. BOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

(Me) "Why if I was on 'The Voice', Blake Shelton would soooo steal me from Miley Cyrus!"

(3rd Grader) "Who's Miley Cyrus?"

(Me singing) "You came in like a wreeeeecking ball..."

There was a moment of silence then*...

BOOOOOOOOO!!!!

The Great Tooth Fairy Debate

From January 20, 2017

Now before you get the wrong idea from this post's title... The Great Tooth Fairy Debate of 2017 was not about the viability of the Tooth Fairy. The consensus of the Bus is that the Tooth Fairy's existence is settled science, as a clear majority of students have indeed been enriched by the largess of The Tooth Fairy and her nocturnal pursuits. Nay, Bus 24 took the debate to a whole other level.

Today's great debate query...
What does the Tooth Fairy do with the all those teeth, post collection?

We were able to narrow it down to two possibilities with a third option (He carries them off in his space ship) being dispensed with summarily as the logic of that argument quickly crumbled when a majority of students agreed that the Tooth Fairy has wings (being a fairy and all) and would not need a space ship.

The top two arguments were as follows...
(1) She gives them to your mommy to keep in a box on her dresser.
(2) She buries them in the back yard to grow more teeth, or a whole new kid.

So I ask you the reader, which option would you choose?

Shiver Me Timbers... Argggggh!

From January 19, 2017

Last night, my granddaughters gave me a fake skull and crossbones tattoo. So today, I told the kids that while we were off, I joined a pirate ship and became a pirate. Now after being around me these past couple months, they have learned to be skeptical about ANYTHING I say... I've been known to stretch the truth a time or two... hundred.

(Me) "Here... check out my totally real skull and crossbones tattoo. While we were off I joined a pirate ship and plundered me some booty."

(2nd grader) "If you're a pirate, where's your parrot and eye patch?"

(Me) "Well, my parrot flew away and I went to the optometrist and got my eye fixed."

(1st grader) "What's an optometrist?"

(Me) "Well an optometrist is an eye doctor."

Now one of my 6 year-old kindergartners wears glasses and choose this moment to speak for, what I believe to be, the very first time on the bus...

(Kindergartner) "I got my glasses from the eye doctor."

(Me) "Did you like your doctor?"

(Kindergartner) "Yes, but she couldn't make up her mind."

(Me) "What do you mean?"

(Kindergartner) "She made me look into a machine and kept asking me, Does this look better, does this look better, how about this, does this look better? I said Geesh lady... I'm only 6, why do you keep asking me?"

I Got Schooled by a 2nd Grader

Being a first year bus driver one thing I failed to understand is that low hanging branches of trees on back roads go undisturbed in the summer when school isn't in session. I learned this lesson the hard way, from a petite 2nd grader.

(Crunch-Snap-Crunch)
The children were startled at the noise. 

(Me) "Don't worry, that's just a couple branches on the trees, we're safe inside the bus."

That answer was not nearly good enough for one very precocious, future environmentalist.

(2nd Grader yelling) "MR. STUCKEY, YOU'RE HURTING THE TREES!!!"

(Me being me... sarcastic) "That's right... Mr. Stuckey hates the trees!"

(2nd Grader) "MR. STUCKEY, YOU CAN'T HATE THE TREES BECAUSE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS! PHOTOSYNTHESIS IS THE REASON WE HAVE OXYGEN AND WE NEED OXYGEN TO LIVE!!!"

2nd Grader 1... Mr. Stuckey 0

I later asked this self aware 8 year-old where she learned about photosynthesis and she told me she learned about it from the Disney movie "The Lorax". Hmmmmm... all I learned from Cartoons was that cats don't like mice and rabbits are rascally. 

The Cookie Wars

It started out all quite innocently. Two 3rd grade boys approached the front of the bus this morning. One, with a disgusted yet eager face, just dying to tell me about his last evening...

(Boy 1) "Mr. Stuckey, my dad put 5 Oreo cookies in his mouth then opened it up and made me look."

(Me) "Nice."

(Boy 2) "Well my dad put 10 Oreos in his mouth."

(Me) "Okay."

(Boy 1) "Well my dad once ate a whole bag of oreos all by himself."

Clearly things had escalated as the bus waited patiently for boy 2 to top that.

(Boy 2) "Well my dad ate a whole bag of Oreos and drank a whole bottle of Mt. Dew and my mom said he was going to be sick!"

(Me) "Did he get sick?"

(Boy 2) "No, but he couldn't poop for two days."

It was time to call for a detente between Waring parties

(Me) "Does anybody have a story that doesn't involve Oreos?"

That's when my smallest of kindergartners came forward and tugged on my arm.

(5 year-old girl) "My daddy ate all the chocolate chip cookies and I didn't get to eat any."

(Me) "Do you like chocolate chip cookies?"

(5 year-old) "No. I don't like chocolate."

(Me) "Well than you didn't really care that you didn't get to eat any, now did you?"

(5 year-old) "Uh huh... I like to eat the part of the cookie that isn't so chippy!"

Happy Birthday

We celebrate Birthdays on my bus. The company I work for, graciously supplied me with a list of all my student passengers that includes their birth dates. It's been my experience that the kids will get super excited starting about a week before their actual birthday. It is a certainty that they will make sure to remind me every day prior, that their birthday is coming up. It is also a certainty, that when that day comes and we actually sing to them... they get totally embarrassed and sink way down low into the bus seat cushions. This is a story about Zoe. A 1st grader who was overly excited for her birthday but wasn't quite with the program when it came to answering my questions.

(Me) "Soooo Zoe... you turned 7 today. I guess you'll soon be driving a car soon?"

(Zoe) "That's silly... kids can't drive cars."

(Me) "Well than maybe you should drive the bus. Do you want to drive?"

(Zoe) *crickets*

(Me) "You know... if I keep driving you every day... you're never going to learn how."

(Zoe) "I'm only 7."

(Me) "So you wont start driving until you're 8 or 9?"

(Zoe changing the subject) "I get to stay up until 8:30 now and I get an extra dollar when I do my homework and chores!"

(Me) "Speaking of chores... when are you getting a real job?"

(Zoe) "Kids don't work until they're 20 or 90 or something and maybe sometimes when they get to go to college."

(Me) "Speaking of college... are you going to college when you get older?"

(Zoe bored with me again) "I get to go ice skating for my birthday tonight!"

Why, When I Was Your Age.....

From January 10, 2017

This is the one where I thought I was being clever and funny but had my sarcastic jocularity turned back on me...

(Me to a Group of Students) "Did you all do your homework last night?"

(3rd grader) "No Mr. Stuckey, we didn't have any homework last night."

(Me, now incredulous and sarcastic) "No Homework!?! You're kidding me... why when I was a kid we had homework 8 days a week. I'm not saying I did it every night but yeah... our teachers gave us homework 8 days a week!"

(5th grader) "That's impossible. There's only 7 days in a week!"

(Me) "Oh yeah... are you sure about that???"

(5th grader) "Yeah I'm sure of that... and maybe if you had actually DONE your homework you'd know that too!"

Another Gem from Gemma

I've already mentioned my kindergartner, 6 year-old Gemma, but what I didn't mention is her adorable use of the phrase "And Then Guess What" as punctuation to every story she tells. This is how Gemma told me about a very familiar Fairy Tale.....

(Gemma) "Last night my me-maw readed me a book AND GUESS WHAT there was a little girl named Goldilocks in it AND GUESS WHAT she had long yellow hair AND GUESS WHAT she got lost in the woods AND GUESS WHAT she got unlost 'cause she founded a bear cabin AND GUESS WHAT she founded 3 bear chairs in the cabin AND GUESS WHAT she founded 3 bear bowls of porridge AND GUESS WHAT she founded 3 bear beds AND GUESS WHAT......."

It was at that point the school bell rang and all the students, including Gemma, hurried off the bus and headed to class. Gemma never did finish the story to tell me how it ends AND GUESS WHAT... I think I already know.

Boys Are Sooooo Stupid

God, in His infinite wisdom and sense of humor, has ordained upon high that young girls mature much faster than boys. I have Five (boy crazy) 12-13 year-old young ladies on my bus and today's conversation went something like this...

(Girl 1) "Anthony thinks he's so cool... I had to sit next to him at the assembly... he's soooo stupid... I can't stand him!"

(Girl 2) "Well at least you don't have to be in study group with him like me!"

(Girl 3) "Braxton texted me yesterday... I don't know how he got my number... he's so stupid... oh look... there's Ayden... all he cares about is his hair!"

(Me) "Well he does have nice hair."

(All Three girls in unison) "Ewwwwwwwwww!!!"

(Me) "Tell me ladies, do you think the boys sit around talking about you girls, like you talk about them?"

(Girl 3) "No... all they talk about is video games!"

(Girl 2) "Or watching videos about other boys playing video games!"

(Girl 1) "Boys are so stupid... I can't stand them!"

How High Can You Count

From January 5, 2017

Gemma, a 6 year old kindergartner, came running up to me before school with a paper in her hand, totally excited and with a huge smile on her face.

(Gemma) "Mr. Stuckey, Mr. Stuckey, I can count really really high! How high can you count?"

(Me) "Well Gemma, I guess I can count all the way up to a trillion but you'd be graduating high school long before I finished."

(Gemma... a little deflated now but still excited) "Oh... well I can count up to thirty! Here see."

Gemma held up her piece of paper which had the numbers from 1 to 8 on one side and 9 to 30 on the other.

(Me) "That's really great Gemma! Now can you tell me what number comes after 30?"

(Gemma looking down at her paper) "No... that's all the more number that would fit on my paper."

(Me trying to be encouraging) "Well, after 30 comes 31. Then 32, 33, 34..."

Gemma interrupted my counting and lightly tapped my arm.

(Gemma) "Mr. Stuckey... I think I'm going to need more paper."

What's This All About

After spending my entire life toiling in the Printing Industry, this past year, I became a School Bus Driver. The most fulfilling job in the Universe. Well... at least it is for me. You see I've always had a passion for kids, and if you'll allow me a brief moment of non-modesty, a real talent in communicating with children from toddler to teen. In the beginning of 2017, I began chronicling the conversations between the elementary aged students on my bus and me. My Facebook friends seemed to enjoy the little stories I relayed and soon I was getting comments directing me to "write a book". Well... I'm too lazy to write a book but blogging... yeah I can do that. So sit back... please stay in your seats and don't stick you head or hands out the windows while the bus is moving... and mostly... I just enjoy.