On the Road: The snow is finally melting

I am finally seeing my front lawn, the first time since the middle of December. I know everyone dreams of a white Christmas, but hey, let's not be ridiculous about it!

Actually the weather folks are saying the snowpack stands at about 150 percent of normal, so we've really had enough. However it is now warming up and it rained a little.

So guess what happens? All that snow turns to water and it floods somebody. We are not getting flooded however and that's a good thing, but other folks in the state are. I am thinking about dropping by Associated Foods and letting them know my medical card will be up in six weeks or so.

I wonder what would happen if I just let it expire? Well not much actually. All a driver has to do it go get a physical which is what you need to renew anyway. I'm hoping I can drive a few shuttles this summer when school is out. However the school thing is working out pretty well.

My favorite science teacher has booked me way ahead of time and the local high school has me on their preferred list.

I went back to Central Davis Junior High, which is about 20 minutes away, for an art class. I am no good at drawing, but then again most of the students aren't either. So I can help them a bit.

I like getting the 7th and 8th grader more than the 9th graders. The older kids think they are a big fish in a small pond.

They will get theirs in high school next year. But the 7th graders know they are small fish in a big pond and therefore are somewhat easier to intimidate.

What is nice to see is that most of the kids here are age appropriate as far as dress and maturity goes. If they are 12 years old, they look like typical conservative 12 year olds. There are exceptions, but they stick out like sore thumbs. Anyway, the art class was fun. The 7th graders had to take an MTV logo and color it in using various color pencils and shape stencils to jazz them up a bit.

The variety was amazing to me. The 8th graders had to take a long strip of mat board and make it look like a colorful sign. The kids were so involved they didn't even think about causing me any trouble.

I finally got into a junior high wood shop class too.

I fondly remember wood and metal shop at my intermediate school in Concord. But you never know what to expect from students who are planning to work in the shop only to find out they will be spending the day in a classroom instead.

It doesn't go over well with high school students at all. The first sub job this year was in a construction class and I thought I was going to have a mutiny on my hands. However the junior high students took it really well.

I found out from the teacher next door that they had been warning not to hassle me about anything.

It's nice to have a teacher give them a heads up before a sub shows up. I have a granddaughter and a couple of distant step grandchildren in the local junior high, and a grandson in the senior high.

So far they have been good when I sub one of their classes, but I know that one of them can text-message with the phone in her pocket. So when I had her this week I carefully watched to see if she was going to try it.

I needn't have worried. She visited with her friends instead. But the teacher had okayed this before she left on a field trip so I let it go.

Now I have to decide whether or not I want to try for a credential.

They are short on teachers in Utah so they have a program where a person with a BA or BS can begin teaching while they work on their credential.

Work experience counts, so if I were to teach journalism I would have to take very few additional classes. But there are also very few pure journalism spots open. And you have to get your own job to get into the program. I have until March 31 to decide.

However I really like setting my own schedule so working full time after retiring a few years back may not be a good idea. You know, it would cut deeply into my hobby time.