The year was 1978. I drove a school bus in the summer months for my detassling crew. I was way too young to drive a bus, and yet, I did. There are questions to accompany this venture. First of all, “What is detassling?” Second, “Why would they hire you?” Third, “Was this legal?”
Oh, I’m happy to answer those, but the main concern is the morning of the fog on my summer job. I’m driving the bus in June, 5:00 or so in the morning, on the highway, with dense fog. Into my head pops up my teaching from driver’s ed class: “Beware of animals leaping out in early morning or evening.” I’m on the interstate to pick up my first crew from a small town, and I slow down in the fog. Thank you, God. Deer ran across the road in front of my bus. I slammed on the brakes and gasped. In the 1970’s, the roads weren’t that crowded, so no one slammed into me. It’s been the only time in my life that I have had to deal with wildlife on the highway.
That’s what a weather alert will bring to mind for me. Fog? Okay. I handled that one years ago. And hey – who in the world thought a 19-year old could?