Today was Nick and Dan’s first day of going to their new school, Gwinn Oaks. They had to walk to the bus stop. The bus stop is across from our driveway. Heck when I was a kid… (When I was a kid, I walked around the corner to Briarlake.)

I had stayed up working late the night before, so I slept in. I was able to see them off. Kathy, now 24 hours overdue, and I stood out at the bus stop. Nicole was already worrying that the bus might not stop. She had on a new tie-die jumper. Danny concentrated, clutching his coveted new Batman lunchbox. They both looked up the road. The bus came. The bus stopped. They climbed aboard, not looking back. That was ok, the camera had run out of film.

Nicole smiled through the window and waved. She will like her new school, I’m sure. At registration in the lunch room she blurted out in realization, “This will be the first white teacher I’ve had.”

I saw Danny sitting next to Nicole, wearing his laminated cardboard bus #12 around his neck, looking straight ahead, looking very determined. You would think he could see 16 years of education out in front of that bus.

Go get ’em Dan.