So, Talk Like A Pirate Day…
By default, this page automatically converts to pirate-speak on Talk Like A Pirate Day. Makes it so much easier for me to be silly. 
Work has been kicking my ass. The so-called “Chinese Curse”, “May you live in interesting times” has certainly been in play at my agency. My boss has been in New York all week, scrambling along with about 1/2 the agency in the current economic situation. I’m still trying to figure out which direction is up. And there are a bazillion projects due RIGHT THIS MINUTE! (Not really right this minute, but it sure feels that way.)
Then there was last night’s cluster fuck of a “Safety Precaution” at TSM’s school. His school and 2 others were put into a “secure the building” mode (aka: Lockdown) because the police got a tip that a murder suspect might be in a house nearby. They received that tip around NOON. They locked the schools down around 1:45. The police entered the suspected house at 6:45 pm. Nearly 7 Hours after they got the tip?!!
The quote from the Public Relations Officer just pissed me off. “We are not going to knock on the door and ask is that person home,” said Officer Ericka Hernandez of the Prince William County Police Department. “We are going to take every precautionary measure to make contact with the occupants of that house.” OK, fine, I understand taking all precautions, but taking 6+ hours to contact the occupants and enter the house? That seems a little excessive.
And the school system is touting the excellence of their evacuation plan. Um, no. I got one text message. At 5:21 (time stamped by them at 4:45) saying “Woodbridge MS students remain at school”. The school system website and TV station kept repeating the same thing, over and over. Sometime after 6 pm, they started saying that they were evacuating the elementary school kids to a different middle school, but no word on TSM’s middle school. It wasn’t until I got a call from TSM (on his teacher’s cell phone) around 7:20, that I knew they were evacuating his school to the other middle school. The tv and website didn’t say that until at least 7:40.
And let’s talk about their choice of school to evacuate to. Fred Lynn Middle is in a congested neighborhood with little to no parking available at the best of times. So let’s send 2,000 students and teachers there at the same time, and have parents come and pick them up all at the same time. (If they got the message to come pick them up.) Add to the fact that they blocked off half the access to the school, forcing people to make illegal U-turns on Route 1 to double back, and it was beyond a mess. According to TOH, people were parking anywhere they could fit their vehicles. What I don’t understand is why they sent everyone to one school. There is another school, just as close to the original schools as Fred Lynn, and they could have sent some of the kids there to cut down on congestion.
TOH and I were in constant contact once I’d heard the news. He stayed late at the office to monitor the web sites while I took the train home, and then I monitored the web sites and tv while he drove home. I’d hate to think if I were a single parent with less electronic access. How would I have known what to do?
TOH & TSM arrived home at 9:30. 6 hours after TSM normally gets home. And the guy is still at large.
In less ranting news, this weekend marks the mid-point of Faire. I’m enjoying it, but I’m not feeling the “Must Go To Faire” vibe that I have in the past. Maybe it’s the fatigue. I don’t know. But this weekend’s weather is supposed to be fantastic.