Like most people driving to work I pretty much take the same route.  I take a street called Snyder which gives me a straight shot to work without many required stops.  The downside is that there are train tracks on this road and Cheyenne being a railroad town has a ton of trains on it.  This morning was one of those mornings when a train forced me to take another path.

So I took a left and then a couple of blocks later I took a right to get on Bent which runs parrallel to Snyder, but doesn’t have railroad tracks.  After I hit the couple of stop signs I’m behind a school bus.  She pulls to a stop sign and proceeds to pull to the side of the road in front of the school by my work.  The lights flash yellow and I pull through the stop sign (I stopped) and into the work parking lot.

I’m not really paying much attention as I walk to work, but I start to hear something.

“Sir, Sir”, a mom like voice calls out.

I look around and see a lady coming out of the bus after me.

“What can I do for you?” I ask.

Suddenly the mom like voice becomes very non mom like.

“Every morning you pass me on this road when my red lights are on.”

I’m usually someone that really has to think about something for any sort of situation where I’m put on the spot…such as this.

“Ma’am I’m sorry that I passed you today, but I saw yellow lights.  Additionally I only take Bent when the train blocks me from Snyder.  I can’t tell you the last time that I came down Bent in the morning.”

“Well I’m going to be watching and if you do it again I’m going to report you to the police and you’ll have a $250 ticket.”

I didn’t know what to say at that point because I’d already stated my point.

“So are the lights red or yellow,” I asked her as she walked back towards her bus.

“They are red.”

“Ma’am when I went around you they were yellow.  Perhaps they turned red when I got beside you, but I had no way of telling.  However the next time I will bring my camera so that I can prove that they are yellow,” I tell her.

“They were red and I will also bring my camera,” She replies.

We both leave for our respective jobs.  I’ve been thinking of a couple of things since then (no it didn’t ruin my day because I was in the right..but if it went to court who do you believe…no passengers in either vehicle?)

My wife is a certified teacher, I attempted on to occassions to become a teacher, so when I’m around school buses and schools I’m always a little bit more careful.

Secondly, and this one kind of worries me a bit.  This lady thinks she sees me everyday when she really doesn’t.  So lets say that there is someone else that I work with or someone that drives that route everyday that does in fact pass the bus with no regard.  And now she knows where I park my vehicle.  I think you see where I’m going with this.  I’m afraid that one of these days I’ll come out for lunch and there will be a ticket on my window, despite the fact that I hadn’t taken that route to work.

So I’m seriously thinking for the next couple of weeks I’m going to make note of what route I took just in case.