Mount Morris, Michigan. 1970-something.

It was the first day of school, and it was one particular young man's first day of kindergarten.

He was the oldest child in the family, which meant this was a first for his mother too. The school bus picked the excited boy up in the driveway for the afternoon kindergarten session, and off he went.

The mother wasn't particularly worried about her son -- he was rather precocious; he could already read, and he knew his bus number and his address. She looked forward to him coming home and telling her all about kindergarten and all the things he got to do that day.

When it came time for all the kids to come home, the mom was worried when her son didn't get off the bus.

He had gotten on the correct bus: number 222. But when the bus driver shouted, "All right, all you big kids on Webster Road, here's your stop!", he stayed in his seat.

The bus continued on the rest of its route. Soon, there was only one child left on the bus.

The bus driver approached the small boy and asked him if he knew where he lived.

"7334 North Webster Road!" the boy cheerfully replied. (His mom had trained him on that answer.)

"I stopped at Webster Road! Why didn't you get off the bus?" the puzzled bus driver asked.

Matter-of-factly, the precocious kindergartener replied, "Because you said all you big kids on Webster Road, here's your stop. I'm a little kid."

The bus driver sighed and hung her head. She got back into the driver's seat and drove the boy all the way down the gravel road to his driveway, where his anxious mother stood waiting and worried.

The bus driver explained to the mom what had happened, and everyone lived happily ever after.

That kid was me. And that mom was my mom.

Photo by JR
Photo by JR
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Suffice it to say, neither of us will ever forget that first day of school.

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