It was raining this morning as I drove to work, and was in the high 30s. Cold and wet, with a bit of a breeze. During the winter there will be mornings of bitter cold, often with wind to add bite.
As I drive through my neighborhood and toward Meridian Road, I pass an elementary school and the high school. I drive to work the same time as kids are walking to school. On mornings such as today I see the kids walking along, huddled against the cold and rain, and I think I ought to offer a ride. I go right by their destination. It seems only common courtesy.
But of course, I don't make the offer. I'm a middle aged man. If I offered a ride, because as a parent I have empathy for the kids, the child would probably recoil, shy away, and decline. Later in the day I'd get a visit by the authorities, and possibly suffer many negative ramifications. An example of "No good deed goes unpunished."
So I just drive by them, leaving them to walk in the cold and rain. How sad.
1 comment:
I can commiserate with you Alan. One rainy afternoon during a down pour I went to the elementary school to pick up my 8 year old daughter. I also offered a ride to one of her friends down the street but she didn't know me and declined. Probably rightfully so, but I was saddened. Times have changed and Meridian has changed even faster, seemingly, but I take it with a grain of salt. After all my 12 year old son was probably one of those you passed by but he is a true Idaho kid, trudging off to school in 15 degree weather in shorts and a down parka. The schools do shut down whenever the conditions become too severe for the students who walk, the last time I can recall was December 1990 when temps went down to -25. The kids can survive the weather, but they may not survive a ride from the wrong person and there has been another alert just this month about a suspicious individual around Meridian High. Let it go, just another sign of the times.
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