Bin and Gone

Heist in the Night


Did I tell you about the wonderful wooden garbage (trash) can corral/bin my friend Bill brought me? It held my garbage can and my recycling bins beautifully. I have had all kinds of trouble with the containers blowing out into the road to be smashed by passing cars and trucks.


Bill gave me a my bin about four weeks ago. The first time the garbage was collected, the two cans were neatly put back into the bin, but the paper recycling bin was not. The second week it was the same. Last week, neither the garbage can nor the paper bin were in the rack, but instead lay empty alongside the road as fodder for passing motorists.


Alas, there shall be no repeat this week. Sometime during the night, someone stole my lovely can corral!! As I headed out to school this morning I realized it had vanished. I called the police to report the theft, and eventually drove over to file a report. The officer in charge said there was about a 0% chance it would ever be recovered and I, most unhappily have to agree.


I am utterly heartbroken. I had grown quite fond of my bin and was ever so grateful to Bill for giving it to me. Now, it is gone, the wind is blowing, and I can picture scattered papers, and cans all over the place on Thursday when I have to put the trash out for collection. Bill was making a rack for himself and now tells me he will give it to me instead, but that is just not right.


I drew up a picture of my lost love for the carpentry teacher at school and will likely have him make a new one. Of course, I will have to pay for lumber, etc. The police figure someone saw the bin some time ago and planned to take it. The thing was really quite heavy and large--about 3 feet by 7 feet, made of good sturdy wood. I would suspect it took at least two people to abscond with it. I had thought about staking it into the ground, but decided to wait as I just figured it was too big for someone to take.


Wrong. Bummer. I am so very sad.


Top that off with school events. My students efforts with Bottom's Ballad were decidedly mixed. They weren't generally bad, but they weren't great either. About five students actually sang and at least three of them were pretty good at it! The rest...well, the less said the better. About another four good ones, and a bunch of kids who didn't have any at all. *sigh*


Then when I visited the vice-principal, I found him working on next year's schedule. Out of curiosity I asked to see what he'd planned for me. As soon as I saw it I told him if I'd gotten it in the mail, my resignation would have followed immediately afterwards. He had me teaching five different classes every day. Six classes a day total. Two college prep senior groups, college prep freshman, a tech writing course, an upper level junior class, and then a lower level junior class with an in-class support teacher. I told him if he gave that schedule to a new, young teacher that would be the end of his/her career. I could do it only because I had nearly all the materials/resources I'd need--except for materials for the lower level class--but even I would be tearing my hair out. I know he meant well, trying to limit the grade levels, but he failed to realize he'd given me all those different courses.


I know I have complained about this before, noting that this year I was saddled with four different preps each day, while my fellow teachers only had two. This new configuration was totally over the top. Good thing I dropped in to give him a confiscated cell phone. I may have saved a new teacher's career. I know this will have absolutely no impact on me, but I simply cannot allow my replacement to be tormented like that. If they hire someone just out of college, he/she would be totally overwhelmed.


Now, I think I will monitor the schedule and if I know what it is before I leave, I will set up some starter lessons for the new teacher. I certainly have all the materials available to set up some nice little teaching units to help him/her start off. I just can't leave without doing something to help.

Meanwhile, if you haven't figured it out yet, it is Monday, horse day off. But it is also windy and kind of cold out there, so I am staying inside for the remainder of the night. I gave the Boys plenty of hay with dinner, so they will be just fine until late feed.