Friday, February 22, 2013

The Hair Weave

Things around here have been fairly mundane. Every now and again I'll have a child who says something cute, but by the time I get home, I'm too far focused on other daily errands that I forget the whole thing. This incident, however, really stuck out in my mind as one of the more memorable ones. It serves to remind me that there is NEVER a dull moment when driving the big yellow limo.

The day started out very normal and in the afternoon, I found myself on a bus that I rarely have to drive. The driver is good about leaving a route description and "cheat sheets" with exact directions on how to turn, and where to stop. The bus serves a full area that requires the bus to do two runs in the morning, and three in the afternoon. I was driving the first run full of elementary kids and they happen to be behaving. Most of them are staying seated and I am fairly able to concentrate on the directions given. I did have to yell a few times to get them to quiet down, but mostly, I'm proud to say that the regular driver has done a fantastic job with those children.

They were quiet... too quiet.... Then chaos breaks loose. A bunch of girls stand up and I hear one of them say - "OOOOHHHH she ripped out her HAIR!!"

Oh boy. Now a hair weave is a very expensive piece of hair that is braided into existing hair. Usually African Americans pay good money (200 some odd dollars - so I've heard) to get hair weaves put in their hair. Why a parent would spend this kind of money on their child's hair is beyond me! As one can imagine, if it is pulled out.. or yanked, in this case, it is VERY painful.

Unfortunately I did not actually SEE anything being done because these girls were fighting below seat level. Though it is disconcerting to see a child walk up the aisle teary eyed with her hair in hand. I felt bad for the kid but really, I can't exactly fix it.

What exactly do you DO in that situation?!

The Bus Driver.

1 comment:

ChiTown Girl said...

Wow, I'm REALLY behind here with your posts!

Finding pieces or clumps of "weave" on the floor was an every day thing at the Hell-Hole. And, I always thought the same thing about parents who spent that much money on their CHILD'S hair. Usually, it was the same parent who couldn't buy their child a pencil, or crayon, or ANY supplies for that matter. And, forget about paying for anything "extra" like a fieldtrip! But, those kids always had their hair done. I mean "did." ;-)