Driver's Ed

I spent four straight days at our new high school and it was great. I know some of the kids from church, not that they act any better though. But I ran into a fair number of the same kids I had in previous classes.

One of these classes was labeled ‘Driver’s Ed.’ However when I got to the classroom there were no computers, and no little steering wheels on the desks, nor were there any driver’s handbooks.

Instead there was a quiz for the students on world history. I thought to myself that maybe driver’s ed was later in the day. But no, for the last periods it was a DVD on climate change, the dreaded ‘Inconvenient Truth’ by you-know-who! One of the students asked toward the end, "Is this guy a Democrat?" Well does a bear use the woods for an outhouse?

This was the first time I ever watched it so I was actually very much surprised to find a little useful information hidden among the propaganda. I can’t believe, however, that the film passes for a documentary. There were a bunch of references to the election of 2000.

It was because I was afraid the guy might win that I asked my late wife to buy me rifles for Christmas presents. From the way he was talking it might be the last time I ever saw one, much less owned one.

Anyway the film was good for a few laughs from the students. I guess they are not too brainwashed yet.

The next day I thought I was going in for a ‘Social Studies’ class. However it was ‘Spanish’ and ‘Student Government.’ We watched a DVD on the Mayan culture and sent the government students off to a mid-term counselor.

On the way out I asked the school secretary why the classes were listed how they were. She said that if they listed some of them for what they were, they would never get a sub to come in. I had to laugh, I guess I’m a sucker because I would have come anyway.

It was too bad about the driver’s ed class. I was ready to tell them about driving trucks and how they should drive around them. It is not something they teach in driver’s ed and it would save a few lives if they did.

As any driver will tell you, four-wheelers get in the way a lot. Even with a bushel basket full of mirrors, there are still blind spots in truck cabs. The rule of thumb is: If you can see the driver in his mirror, he can see you. However as we all know, things change very fast out on the road. So what was true a minute ago, may not be true when you go to make the move.

I’ve seen a lot of cars being forced to avoid an accident with a truck and the other way around too. I will add that I have had encounters myself. But everybody has lived to give me the single digit salute.

But at least here the trucks don’t stay out in the fast lane very long because the speed limit for trucks is the same for cars. I really wish California would review that law, because it impedes traffic flow to have trucks go 55 mile per hour when the cars go 70 m.p.h. It is much, much smoother here.

As I write this there is a couple of inches of snow on the front lawn. The weather guy says we are way behind, like we can do anything about it. But I think of the drivers headed to Wyoming and Colorado and am glad I am in a warm house or classroom instead of out throwing the iron or trying to keep from running over four-wheelers.