Story 1
by Irving and Seymore Grabinski
No breathing!
submitted 9/29/97
One story as told to us involved an Extraboard (big surprise) doing a Camp Palomar trip. The sixth graders of SDUSD go up to Mount Palomar as part of the OCILE Program (Off Campus Integrated Learning Experience) on Mondays. This particular day was unusual for Southern California. It was raining. There were two classes (about 55 kids and one teacher) going to Camp that day from a certain unnamed elementary school. The bus was parked on the playground and the kid's luggage was being loaded into the bays. This took a while, being that the Extraboard had to do this (as is usually the case), all by themselves. All 70 to 80 pieces of luggage (normal amount). By the time the luggage was loaded, the engine had sufficient time to cool down. As the ecstatic kids got on the bus, all the inside windows fogged up. POOF! The Extraboard started the bus and proceeded to give the rules about safe bus riding practices while hoping the engine would warm up enough to defrost the windshield. But even by the end of the presentation, no luck. The engine would not heat up enough until the bus was under a load (moving). So the Extraboard used a squeegee they had thoughtfully brought to clear the inside of the windshield. This was enough to get the bus safely on it's way. Sadly the windshield would not stay clear for more than a few minutes and then the Extraboard would have to wipe it again. The defrosters did start to put out hot air, but the moisture from the student's breathing just overwhelmed the defrosters.
From most schools in San Diego the ride to Palomar is about two hours drive in the best of weather conditions. Wiping the windshield every few minutes after the first hour got, how should we put it, tedious. Also, the climb up the mountain gets rather curvy. Taking your hand off the wheel to clean the windshield is not conducive to safe driving. Our intrepid Extraboard had already tried opening some windows slightly to get fresh air inside. Then the Extraboard decided to use the PA (public address) system to ask the students to please, if they could, close their mouths and breath through their noses hoping to keep the moisture content in the air down inside the bus. It helped somewhat. The students all made it safely to Camp. Happy ending (empty bus on the way back remember?).
Several weeks later this same Extraboard was at this very same school for "Bus Evac" (Bus Evacuation Training), a state mandated program that all elementary schools (and in a condensed extent all secondary students who ride a bus to or from school) must be provided. The Extraboard was with several other Extraboards (five Extraboards at a Bus Evac is normal) when the Principal approached and joined the conversation. The Principal inquired if for any reason a driver taking students to sixth grade camp would (and this is a quote), "ask the students not to breath?". The Principal did not know who drove the bus that day and luckily the same Extraboard was there and could explain. The Extraboards and the Principal had a good laugh. True story.
We swear!
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