Da Bomb (or, How to Kill 90 Minutes of Potential Free Time)

ka-BOOM.

hey players... how's everybody's week going so far? pretty nice?

that's swell. glad to hear it.


alright... here's the deal.

smurf this, folks: today at 3:00pm, as mr. hough was trudging waist-deep through chapter 6, section 1 ('the land and economy of mexico'), and his last remaining class for the day was busy creating concept maps and making fun of eachother's mamas, an announcement was made over the P.A. system alerting all staff and students to assemble in the field for a 'fire drill.'

...a 'fire drill' that required all students to immediately leave the buildings, and to take with them their backpacks.

this is unheard of, in the educational realm at any rate, and you could hear it in the voice of the administrator speaking over the P.A. that something was wrong. what they weren't telling us at that point in time, of course, was that the sheriff's department had received a threat over the phone from some kid saying that there was a bomb planted in the school. and, even though the chances were slim to none that this threat had any substance behind it, our school took the appropriate measure and immediately unleashed our hordes of terrors from their academic confinements and out into the biting cold (florida biting cold, rather).

for over an hour and a half, we were assembled on the athletic complex behind the school... much like - wait for the nerd reference, folks - the forces of haradrim on the fields of pelennor. now, keep in mind that although school let out at 3:30pm, no one - students and faculty alike - was allowed to leave. not a soul. and let me tell you this much, dear readers: trying to keep two dozen teenagers in line after the end-of-school bell sounds - and who have no idea what's going on in the first place - is pure, unGodly hell. the kids weren't allowed to do anything but stand around and complain, which, as you can probably imagine, was tons and tons of fun. ultimately, this unruly mob of nearly 1500 bored and tired lemmings/students was systematically dispersed only after K-9 units and the like swept through the school (and the teachers' individual cars), sometime around 4:15pm or so.

after that, teachers had to wait an additional half-hour or so before the go-ahead was given for us all to risk our lives in retrieving our car keys from our classrooms. pretty awesome.

all in all, not the greatest way to end one's tuesday. that's my two cents.

personally, i would've tempted the fates and put my neck on the line simply in order to grab my keys and get the hell out of there somewhat earlier than all of this. but, then again, i am incredibly brave.... and am courageous beyond all rational thought.

...which, i suppose, is why i teach middle school in the first place.

- brian