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Twenty-Second Job of Bob - School Bus third go-a-round - Part II - CDL, no time, libility lunacy
This entry was posted on 5/4/2010 2:31 AM and is filed under Jobs of Bob.
Since I had driven school bus 16 years prior, the Commercial Drivers' License - a Federal construct - had appeared. Years ago, you took a State driving test, got a Chauffeurs' license printed on a piece of cardboard (no picture), and went to work driving. By 1996 you needed a longer training period; a physical; a drug test; and, a few more bucks for the fee. Luckily my new bus company paid for it all.
But, it became apparent, the odd hours of driving school bus was just not going to fit into my new life. Not that the odd hours really fit that well anywhere 16 years prior either. What did I really expect? I would drive only as a substitute in the fall of 1995 starting in mid-semester, and then as a regular driver the spring of 1996. It just was not worth the time and heart ache.
There were the last school bus caveats:
One; it was clear that being almost 20 years older also was taking its toll. The cold bothered me; the kids bothered me; all the Orwellian bureaucracy bothered me; and, I was not as physically agile as I once was.
Two; the act of driving a 100 passenger bus full of...100 kids; the 75,000 dollar bus; and, the short arithmetic told me I was bouncing around with a hundred million dollars of cargo, property, and liability. All this for eight Bucks an hour pay with no benefits.
Three; as I mentioned before, the work day is ruined for four hours or so of pay because you are not paid for the down time between morning and afternoon routes.
School bus third go-a-round - three strikes - I am out!
Note: This Blog "Jobs of Bob" Category does not list the jobs chronologically - I write about the experiences as they pop up in my memory and I often revisit an older job. Go to the Cooldadiomedia Web site and the Jobs of Bob Page for an ordered chronology.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan
Army Specialist Benjamin A. Smith, 21, of Hudson, Wisconsin died Wednesday, November 2, 2005 near Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device (roadside bomb) detonated near his Humvee vehicle. Specialist Smith was one of three American soldiers killed in the incident. He was assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, from Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Smith was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. He was the youngest of three children and a 2002 graduate of Hudson High School. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, during Benjamin's high school years, he worked as an apprentice welder at Empire Bucket Incorporated in Hudson, and as a dog handler at the old Saint Croix Meadows greyhound park. In his teens he was active in off-road sports, hunting and playing music. [ Via communication to Cool Dadio Media from Ben's mother, "...he was interested in building scale rockets from scratch. He liked to spend his time being active hunting and skiing (cross-country & downhill) in the fall and winter and spending time with his friends." ] According to Wisconsin 2005 Senate Joint Resolution 67, Smith was a member of the Minnesota wing of the Civil Air Patrol in Lake Elmo while attending high school. Resolution 67 also mentioned that at the time of his death Benjamin was survived by his parents, James and Lenore Smith; brother, Orion; sister, Brianna; paternal grandparents, Joyce Smith and Brian and Ann Smith; and, maternal grandparents, Henry and Brenda Quandt. Army Specialist Benjamin Smith was the 49th Wisconsin military service member to be killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
95,965 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,449 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,395 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1042 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
317 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
681 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,778 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
5,629 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
18 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
140 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
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