Giddy Up!

This is my first non-original story. I apologize, but it is so good that it deserves to be told. I borrow this one from dear ole Dad. He was in education for over 40 years, and this is one of his faves. He passed away nearly 2 years ago and I miss him so I thought I would share his story.

My father always taught me that there are 3 groups which you MUST make friends with to survive in a school setting.

1. Secretary/Bookkeeper-They are the gate keepers and virtually run the school.

2. Custodians- The more they like you, the better they clean your area. Let me just say now that I love all custodians and that I largely believe this story to be an isolated incident. I hope.

3. Lunchroom ladies- I have never been charged for anything extra.

Dad (Superintendent at the time) got a phone call from the local police. A lady had made several calls about a truck parked on the lower end of her property. The police had been out on several occassions but had never seen the truck. During her latest call, she said that the truck had "Property of (School system name) on it" and that she is tired of the truck parking by her barn. Dad called the high school principal and inquired about a work truck. The principal told Dad that Larry (the high school custodian) took the truck everyday and ran courier to other schools. He informed Dad that Larry had just left. My Dad gave this information to the police, and they dispatched a unit. About 30 minutes later, Dad was summoned to the police station.

For some reason, they refused to give Dad the bad news over the phone.

The Barney Fifes were all laughing when Dad entered the police station. The arresting officer informed Dad that when he walked into the barn Larry was standing on a bucket and giving it to Betsy (A cow) up the poop shoot. The ribbing that insued was fierce.

"I hope he washed his hands afterwards."

"Where do you find these people."

"Maybe you should expand your abstinence lessons to school personnel."

Dad didn't see the humor at the time, but he was always a serious man while at work. I never asked if the dude wore protection. Sorry, I digressed a little there. I am happy to report that the cow is fine. Maybe a little lonely now, but fine none the less. The custodian lost his job, and the police kept the story out of the papers.

And that, my friends, is the rest of the story.