Wizard of Id by Parker and Hart for August 09, 2018

A tinge of dread? But if it is a sign that make cheerful parents.

I still feel that tinge just a little, and I’m 58. When I was in grade school, back to school sales started at the end of August, and Christmas displays came out after Thanksgiving. This year I saw Walmart putting their B-T-S signs and wares out the day after the 4th of July, and I expect to see them stick some Xmas stuff out before Halloween as they did last year! My sincere condolences tot he youth of today. It must be traumatic to see that BACK TO SCHOOL message barely a 3th of the way through summer vacation.

My little tinge of dread comes when I hear “We interrupt this program . . .”.

I just feel so sorry for kids everywhere when I see it.

I work full time in a hotel in a popular tourist area. Signs like that make me happy because they signal and end to the summer tourist season busyness

When I see it, I feel no pity…better them than me!!! (I’m 51..)

For lots of parents, that sign says, O-o-o-o-o-h Boy there they go again. For lots of professionals, that sign says O-o-o-o-o-h Boy. Here they come again

Those signs make me dread long lines of cars behind school buses stopping every hundred feet for kids who aren’t allowed to congregate at one pickup point.

For me, the up-side was finally knowing whom would be in my room, and with which teacher.

As a school custodian, I know the teachers are dreading it a bit as well. We start next Wednesday and I know they all still have so much to do. I’ve been working all summer doing heavy cleaning, painting, etc. and the teachers are starting to spend more and more time there as well preparing!

I now scoff at those signs with impunity. Having retired from teaching 5 years ago

I didn’t mind it when I was a kid. It was worse when I had to buy clothes for two school age daughters on a limited income.

That sign only means two things to me. 1) Soon the roads to the lake will be clogged up with buses and Mom’s. 2) Soon the lake will be calm with no kids on personal water craft cutting across my fishing lines.

BACK TO SCHOOL

DON’T FORGET YOUR KEVLAR

Signs like that still make me sick to my stomach, and I’m 66!

I remember a TV commercial where they played “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” while two joyful parents zipped around the store tossing school supplies into carts. The kids just stood dejected in the aisle.

As a parent, I dread those signs more than the kids do. For them, school is sometimes boring or high pressure, but it is also when they can spend more time with their friends.

For me, school means early mornings, trying to get the kids to move. It means late nights, pushing them to do their homework. And it means endless rounds of driving them to school and events (we don’t live close enough for them to bike, and our area has no bus service). Not to mention back-to-school shopping (shudder).

I break into a giddy dance knowing they’re going back to school soon. It’s the most wonderful time of the year!!

I feel a twinge of pain when someone uses tinge like that. :)

tinge – vb: to tint (color) slightly; n: a small amount (usually of color).

twinge – vb: to pinch, tweak, or twitch, or to torment with an unexpected sharp pain, or to wince because of such; n: a twitch, tweak, pinching pain

A haunting sign even after you’re done with school.

I’m a teacher, and my sense of dread is stronger than that of the kids. Not because I dislike the work – it just takes a LOT of effort sometimes to get the ball rolling at the start of the year. On the bright side, that investment has always paid off and every year is better than the last. …But you can never escape that initial fear of the unknown…