Field trip, part one
Take an all-night bus trip, about 25 teen-agers, and Nebraska in November and you'll see how I spent this past weekend. I had the unique opportunity to be a sponsor on an FCCLA trip with five students from Marion High School, one of whom was Daughter #2. It was an experience, to say the least.
Back when they began planning this trip, #2 asked if I wanted to go. I mumbled something about "we'll see what happens" and the next thing I knew I was signed up. I think her words were "it'll be fun." It sounded a lot warmer back in September.
We left Marion Thursday night around 11. We drove to McPherson and met a bus for the trip to Omaha, Neb. Several area schools shared the bus to cut down on the cost. The plan was to sleep all night on the bus and arrive in Omaha at 6:30 Friday morning.
Sleeping on a bus is sort of like being in the hospital. Someone is turning on the light every so often to see if you're still there.
The first hurdle was finding a comfortable position in which to sleep. Luckily, the adults didn't have to share seats so we were able to "stretch out." Unfortunately, one had to be under three feet tall to stretch out. The next best thing was to prop a pillow against the window and lean back. Since I'm not three feet tall and forgot my pillow I settled for sitting up and looking out the window.
Which was just as well. We stopped in Concordia to pick up a few people and that meant turning on the lights and waking everyone up. The stop was short and most people went right back to sleep.
We stopped in York, Neb., to switch drivers and get gas. Of course, that meant waking everyone up and getting off the bus for a 45-minute "rest." I never figured out why we needed the "rest" if we were getting back on the bus to go to sleep.
We got to Omaha at 6:30 on the dot and had a two-hour breakfast stop in which we were supposed to eat and "freshen up" for the day.
The next stop was a tour of Boys Town. I'll be the first to admit I know next to nothing about Nebraska. I vaguely remembered the movie "Boys Town" with Spencer Tracy but had no idea it had anything to do with Nebraska. The tour was interesting and I can now add Boys Town to list of places I've been.
After lunch we went to the birthsite of Gerald Ford. By this time the girls were tired and most didn't give a hoot about Gerald Ford. I overheard several wonder if he was the inventor of the Fords.
The next stop was St. Cecilia's Cathedral. It's a beautiful cathedral and the gentleman who showed us around was extremely knowledgeable. The girls were attentive and polite but given the fact they were tired and whiny, probably would have been equally impressed seeing the gardener's shack.
There's something to be said about hotel air. I say this because I saw 20-some girls get their second wind the minute they walked through the door at the Omaha Hilton. They instantly went from tired and whiny to Energizer Bunnies.
I think I was the only non-teaching adult on the bus so I can say this trip shed new light on teachers. These people were cheerful, attentive, and fun, not to mention unflappable when dealing with crises, small or large.
I say this because when we reached the hotel I was ready to sleep for three days, yet the advisers/teachers went to work, calmly reigning in a bunch of giggly girls, getting them settled in rooms, and ready for the next leg of the journey.
To be continued — after I get caught up on my sleep
— DONNA BERNHARDT
