Jan 18, 2011
Ten-Word Tuesday: The School Closing Edition
You are looking at Bossy’s bedroom skylight. The ice currently encrusted there represents the reason the neighborhood schools employed a two-hour delay this morning.
Actually it’s more like a 24-hour delay for Bossy’s daughter, who is home sick regardless of the weather. In fact, when it comes to snow days, Bossy’s daughter has been a bit unlucky this year. That’s because last year’s record snowfall forced so many days off that, this year, Bossy’s Philadelphia neighborhood is all, Here in Sweden our kids go to school even when the streets aren’t plowed. Tack och ha en trevlig dag.
Bossy grew up on the 19th floor of a Philadelphia high rise, and occasionally it would snow its city arse off down below, and so Bossy would stand by the transistor radio in her family’s kitchen awaiting the broadcaster’s announcement of her school’s closing number.
But for the majority of Bossy’s learning career, Bossy attended public schools, which would be lassoed together and announced as one unit.
Five minutes later when Bossy birthed her own kids, the school closing information could be found crawling along the bottom of the local TV news broadcasts.
Then one year when Bossy’s son was in grade school, Bossy somehow found herself on a classroom school closing phone tree.
Until one fateful late night when Bossy saw that her neighborhood was in the throes of a serious blizzard, and so Bossy took her phone off the hook knowing full well there’d be no school the following day, and Bossy wanted her family to sleep in, which is short for Bossy wanted to sleep in.
Except this meant Bossy’s phone was off the hook when Bossy’s phone tree person tried to call the house. This meant Bossy’s phone tree person had to call the person assigned to Bossy, and this did not go over well with Bossy’s phone tree person.
Which brings us up to date. These days, Bossy typically receives her daughter’s school closing information in an email.
Bossy can sum up her feelings about school closing information in this way: Sister mercy is there a fresher hell? Hurry up May!
Which is what today’s Ten-Word Challenge is all about. In exactly ten words, can you tell Bossy your experiences with school closing information, either from your childhood or currently?
And be sure to check back later today for the best school closing comments on the web!
New Zealand’s temperate: one disaster closure in entire school career!
“All Philadelphia Public and Parochial schools are closed” or 313.
The worst is staying up late and then, what? School?
These days kids sleep with pajamas inside out. Doesn’t work!
1970’s: Englewood, Colorado public schools *NEVER* closed for snow. Ever.
I grew up in southern California. No snow days.
Can’t the plows of the world die — just one day?
barely get sleep as it is. 5am phone call? ACK!
Horn blew saying school was closed, reverberated throughout the land.
(it also honked special codes indicating fire, and what neighborhood it was located in, etc.)
Our city calls us at 5:40AM to tell us that there’s no school. Like this morning, at 5:40, in the morning.
i grew up in florida. no snow days. hurricane days.
Only one snow day ever. Mom told us. We cheered.
Grew up in New Hampshire. Mostly just braved snowy death.
Check email in bed, on iPhone. No get up. Sleep.
NSP-Maplewood did same as St. Paul schools – no closings.
Schools . . . close? Whaaaaa? Oh, redneck gunman on the loose — gotcha.
school closing – what the hell is that? delay – huh?
Hated Phone chain, disconnected myself from that.Loved having a friend who was a busdriver for the district, call the night before and more sleep the next day.
High school, no buses, no snow days. Daughter’s school same.
–>Praying for “wintery mix” often seen in the DC ‘burbs.
“Two hour delay today, son”
“Turn off my alarm clock”
–>Now we’re near beach, cancel night before, snow or not.
Classes cancelled for faculty & students; campus open for staff ~~ I’m staff.
(dang…I just can’t seem to eliminate two more words!)
Whistles blew Morse code. Girl Scout training came in handy.
Scottsdale Tourism Office does not allow inclement weather. Ever.
Arizona native here who thinks this is an urban legend!
Amber night sky from sky rise windows announced snow. Flawless.
Claire grew up in Southern California. She feels deprived, now.
My school always last to close, always waited in vain.
As a kid, loved it! As a mom, resent it!
Two hour delay? What’s that? Make up your mind already!
Catholic schools only closed if snow was 5 feet deep.
Mom: Go to school! Trudged there, building locked. Me: Ha!
I can’t do 10 words but I want to tell you this post made my day; i laughed out loud–you are such a wonderful and clever writer, thank you for being one of my favorite and most delightful bloggers. Being able to read you is one of the reasons that the internet is a good thing.
Text messages to my phone and my daughter’s equals happiness.
California schools only close for fires. Where I live, anyway.
One child, independent school worth money, check weather, I decide.
Checked status on website. Five kids, home all day. Help!
As kid – huddled by the radio
As adult teacher and parent – school closing phone line dialed night before. Hit redial at 5:30am. Turn off alarm.
(That was more than 10 words. I’m new at this.)
Went to school in Rocky Mountains. It never closed. Never.
Damn it.
School closing in the “Ice ages” – Mpls. Minnesota -NEVA happened!
I homeschool my boys. Everyday is a snow day.
Canadian. Snowiest country in world. Nothing ever closes. Deal with it.
10 words:
Kid – Please, oh please call Berlin.
Now – shit – Bedford County.
Another 10:
I grew up in New England – read – NEVER EVER CANCEL.
Ten More:
Now, in Virginia, cancel at forecast of possible snow flake.
5″ in Atlanta + One salt truck = kid home all week.
I grew up in Sweden and we never had a snow-day.
We do have a school holiday in February, which traditionally was meant to save fuel but now is called Sports-week because you are supposed to ski and skate that week.
teachers want it more…
Schools will close when California cracks off and floats away.
1963. Lightning hit the cross on top of the convent.
2010 in Florida. For anything vaguely resembling hurricane force winds.
South of France, no snow, no closed schools ever!
1960/70s, Minnesota, -50blizzard, one boot, one breadbag, uphill. What snowday?
California girl: snow day. . wheee! wha? NYHusband explains makeup days. Love Bossy being strangled by the phone tree.
I get a text msg from edline.
Schools closed, federal government on liberal leave, one sweet commute.
If two snowflakes fall on the school driveway, they close.
Colorado, 1960’s/70’s, Wha? Snow day?, Walked to school, Boogers frozen.
SCHOOL CLOSED was like I’d gotten the winning lottery number
Un-doubt-ly-ex-tremely-over-the-top-bliss-fulness.
Flooding so bad schoolbus would have washed away. December 2010.
in AZ 122 degrees doesn’t even close school. Recess mandatory.
to be fair, the hottest day on record did happen in the summer and we just stayed in and stood under the AC vent. But it regularly got up to 110 or 112 before school let out and they still made us haul our wee sweaty rears outside for recess.
Two inches of snow shuts down entire state of Oklahoma.
Superintendent was from Alaska. Literally. No snow days for us!
At college when blizzard hit – classes canceled – three day party!
Kid 1: Private HS / Snowflake = Closed
Kid 2: Public school = Never*.
*Kid 2= BITTER!
school day slugabeds- snow day up out crack of dawn
No kids at home, don’t care anymore (74f in Vegas)
Massachusetts, 1980s, open front door, hear fire siren, SNOW DAY!
Montana, only snow day was in college. Party on dude.
On school board. Superintendent calls 5:00 am. Coherent conversation who?
ct, kids home one week, snowdrift wine cooler, will survive
Bossy! Du talar svenska!!
Never snow days. Hurricanes and flooding? Plenty of those.
huddled around radio, praying for announcement.
I can’t get my kid out of bed ANY day–snow or otherwise–without deploying a Sears DieHARD and battery cables for nipple clips.
Michigan=snow days are for wussies. Plenty of snow but lots of salt, sand, and plows.
Listening to KYW under warm sheets, frozen room…..C’mon 307!!!!!
So much snow, Son may be junior next year, too!
In 1840, Dad would yell upstairs: “Everybody awake? No school!”