April 09, 2008

In response to Hnnh's post, I would like to proudly say that I carpool to work. I drive with three to four JH teachers, depending on the sports season. Last year, it was me and three guys, but this year, we've added another girl. She's only 22, and this is her first year teaching, so we give her a lot of flack. Being in a carpool is an amazing sense of community. I visit with these people about life, work, the past--we spend about eighty minutes a day together. I hear about trips, kids, wives, fiances, jobs--it's a close connection. That being said, I've only been in one guy's house, and that's because we're old friends. Our connection is limited to the interior of two cars, a van, and two SUVs. Still, it's wide-ranging. Here's a list of topics we've discussed in the past week:
  • *bidding on abandoned storage units
  • *taxidermy, specifically on giraffes and CO animals
  • *cell phones/texting
  • *how to get away with murder
  • *stealing items from Home Depot
  • *chainsaws
  • *the best way to deal with pesky geese (a whacking day of sorts?)
  • *weird students (always a popular topic)
  • *math movies
  • *alarm clocks
  • *work gossip (who's the new Vice Principal?)
  • *museum exhibits
  • *my inability to knit when one guy drives, due to my fear of stabbing a knitting needle through my hand
  • *which smells worse, turkey farms or a feedlots (we drive by both)

Have you ever carpooled? Any great stories?

3 comments:

Hannah said...

We're bad at getting to church in just two cars, and I do admire your carpool and the fact that you do it so faithfully. The topics sound like what might have been discussed on Clyde's route back in the Laramie County bus days.

Amanda said...

Oh, gosh, the fabulous Laramie County bus. I would definitely relate carpool to that experience! I loved it--I even rode the bus after I had my license.

Matty said...

Actually I had exactly the opposite experience. I carpooled with my housemate to the warehouse where we worked, frequently picking up a co-worker if he happened to still be standing at the bus stop when we drove past. 3 guys in a pick-up for 15-20 minutes and many days we didn't even say good morning, let alone have a conversation.