The Long Walk Home

A story about two local school kids forced to walk ten miles to their home reminds me of my childhood. I could care less about the tribulations of Shawnee Mission kids but I still remember having to hoof it home on days that my mom would forget to pick me up. My brother and I would talk, and laugh and bitch as we made our way to the house while plotting to murder our mother. She had a career, a busy schedule and sadly she knew that two Chicano kids had absolutely no chance of survival in the KCMO School District so a little trek across the state lines to a Catholic school along with an unplanned 10 mile walk from time to time was the price we would pay in order to attain a decent education.

The fact of the matter is that KCMO public schools have been completely impracticable for as long as I can remember . . . The District is completely broken and a new face won't fix it . . . Until something really dramatic happens, nothing will change.

Anyway, the thing that always depressed me about those walks was how the scenery always got shittier and shittier as we made our way closer to home. Still, for all of my bitching, my parents never really complained that a good portion of their salary went to our schooling.

After I earned my license, my brother and sister would be forced to walk home occasionally as well. It was a shorter distance and their inconvenience was because I was chasing tail . . . Which is an infinitely more important activity than making sacrifices for your children.