The Perilous Pickup Parade

Kids, it's 3:15, do you know where your parents are?

The perilous pickup parade waiting for you, of course!  (Silly Whitney Blogger!)  From the "silly" Whitney Blogger's perspective I have seen a lot of curious things that make for dangerous or at least annoying situations.  There are more cars than there is space.  (I have a theory there are more cars than children at the school and some people in the neighborhood come out just to yank our chain, but that's a different story.)  The cars moving down Owyhee are mostly behaving well but sometimes you will get one that ignores the 20 mph speed limit causing sudden braking and hand gesturing when a child enters the crosswalk.

Inside the lot itself, there is a whole swirl of accidents-waiting-to-happen there.  The most amazing thing I ever witnessed was a driver talking on a phone while an adult ushered a child into the car.  The driver began pulling away before the child had even gotten into the car!  They stopped the car but the child was no sooner in the car before the driver began pulling away again with that back door wide open.

Parents are equally befuddled as they yell for you, standing 15 feet away but their cries go unnoticed.  You look this way and that but all you see are your friends.  Did mom and dad get a new car that afternoon?  Are cars becoming like the black luggage at the airport where you have to put obnoxious duct tape on them to instantly recognize yours.  Hey!  Not a bad idea just in case we all start driving the same Ford Galaxy!

It's nuts out there kiddies.  So, what do we do?  Suffer?  It will get better in college when you are able to drive home but don't because you want to save your money for expensive, um, job interview trips in March.

Don't worry, I have such a great solution your parents will love it, the school will love it and their doctor is bound to send me flowers!

Did you know you can park absolutely free, without fear of towing at the Whitney United Methodist Church parking lot during school drop off and pick up?  Simply park and walk over to pick up your kids and/or talk to their teachers.  Because of the positioning of the lot you have a quicker exit off Owyhee as well!  The quick walk may just be what the doctor ordered for your stress and the time it takes to walk over to the school may be outweighed by the line of cars you would have had to negotiate.

Still not convinced?  Just try parking in the church parking lot and walking over to the school.

• Your doctor and your health likes it
• The school likes it
• The environment likes it
• You are being a good example to your kids
• You will meet new people; yes I promise the Whitney Blogger is in front of the school everyday and is one of the stranger of the people you will meet
• YOU will like it too.

1. If you do have to drive into the school lot, pull as far forward into the lot as you can (regardless of whether you're dropping off or picking up.)
2. If you are waiting to pick up a student, find a spot in the line as far forward as possible and SHUT your engine OFF.  Idling your engine creates poisonous gases called carbon monoxide and dioxide.  While today's cars produce 98% fewer hydrocarbons than their older brothers and sisters 30 years ago, there are more cars on the road today.  Remember when most households only had 1 car?  Sitting in an idling car can expose you to low level carbon monoxide poisoning or in some recent cases can cause catastrophic levels leading to tragic results.  Shut your engine off, get out of the car and enjoy the company of your fellow parents and grandparents.

Nikki Rutledge

-Whitney Parent