It's 7:15 on any weekday morning. At the corner of Lavergne and Menomonee Avenues stress abounds. A line of car stretches from the Thomas Jefferson School parking lot for a block to Menomonee Avenue and continues around the corner for another block westward. Parents are queued up waiting to drop off their children at school before going to work. They look at their watches hopeful that the line will move more quickly.
A crossing guard is nearly overwhelmed by the dense traffic. He's trying to protect children on their way to school. He must deal with drivers that roll through stop signs and children that don't always pay attention to their surroundings as they cross the street.
A school bus driver arrives with her load and wisely chooses not to join the line up. She opts to drive through the nearby subdivision and approach the drop off point from another direction. The bus has room for more students, but they are missing because their parents are willing to inflict themselves into this ritual pandemonium instead of lingering over a last cup of coffee.
Yes, it's a great place not to be at 7:15 a.m.
