Apparently I have been a neglectful father

My mom was a neglectful parent too. Look how I turned out! (Hahahahaha…. Sorry. Had to say that.)

Me talking about this definitely qualifies as “waxing poetic about the good-old days”.

I rode my bike to school through Jr. High… then drove some and rode some through high school.

In elementary school my ride was about 1.5 miles by road, or 1 mile if I cut across the open fields. In Junior high it was about 2.25 miles. In high school it was just short of 4 miles.

I remember the elementary school stuff very vividly because I had special permission to go home at lunch to take care of my grandmother (my brother and I alternated days… he was M, W, F and I was T, Th). The elementary school had a cage that was locked during normal school hours and I had to run home because the school wouldn’t open the bike cage for either my brother or I to ride home. We could go home, help Nana with her lunch and stuff, then run back to school and JUST BARELY make it back for class. It was the start of me running track and cross country later on in school.

When my brother went to Jr. High, he was able to ride his bike home on those days… he also got a longer lunch period than I did. It made it a little easier on him.

Though it was sad that Nana couldn’t take care of herself so well, it was extremely formative for my sense of independence and responsibility. Say what you will about the dangers of today VS. those we faced back in the 1970’s, the lessons I learned and the motivation to move under my own power that I developed have served me well over the years. While there are many things that you can learn riding a school bus. They are not always as constructive or positive as what I experienced.

Pete

Holy crap, this officer needs an adjustment. I biked to elementary school (just over a mile) as early as 2nd grade. Biked home from middle/high school (10 miles) every day (mom dropped me off), and biked to and from college (6 miles) until I moved across the street from campus.

Guess it’s no surprise that I bike commute.

Let’s see, my youth:
Grade school, lived 1.9 miles away, parents dropped me off in the morning on their way to work, but from 3rd grade to 5th grade, I either took the city bus (mostly) or walked, sometimes with my older brother. This was a medium sized college town.

Middle School, lived .4 miles away, I either walked or rode my bike. This was a large inner suburb of a major metropolitan area.

1st High School, lived 1.5 miles away, I either walked, rode my bike, or took a special city bus. Again large inner suburb.

2nd High School, lived 1.7 miles away, I either walked or rode my bike (too close for school bus per district policy). Senior year I occasionally drove, and other days usually got a ride with classmates. Another medium sized college town.

My Son:

1st grade school on school bus (was about two miles). Large foreign capital.

2nd grade school on city bus (with adult escort) was about 3 miles. Large foreign capital.

Middle school, walked by himself .5 miles. Inner DC suburb.

High School on school bus 2.3 miles and will occassionally walk home (refuses to bicycle).
Inner DC suburb.

As far as the article on the mom and her daughter, I can understand the line from the police and child protective services in this day and age of overprotectiveness, but don’t necessarily agree with it.

I don’t discount the idea that the times are a lot different than what I experienced 35 years ago. I do understand that me not having reproduced makes it so that this is not the best person to be commenting on the topic. I knew I forgot to do something.