50 Years of Drills

1961 . . . a Fire Drill at Franklin Elementary School.

Like normal, we left the school and lined up on Bates Street.

Giggling and murmuring,

even though our teachers did the tried and true Fire Drill

teacher thing . . . stay in line, keep quiet.

Then, lack, billowing smoke 

starts to roll out of the window in the library.

Now THAT got out attention!

When we heard the fire trucks,

we knew something was really up.

Then, the trucks parked and the hoses

were unwound and taken into the building.

Okay, what's up?

Teachers went back to their group of kids

and tell us there was a fire in the girls bathroom.

Next thing we know

they are back in the building,

getting our coats out of the closest,

(yes, it was the middle of winter)

and tossing them out of the windows

so we could all put our coats on.

Those of us who lived in town

got to leave and go home.

We found out the next day 

that oily rags were in a pile in the bathroom

and they had done one of those

spontaneous combustion things. 

Never had to do the 
"dive under your desks"
to protect myself from a possible
atomic bomb.
Or, if we did, I don't remember doing it.

1972 . . . We did Fire Drills

Tried to keep kids quiet,

knowing that if it were a real fire,

we would need to have their full attention.

Always remembered how we reacted

when we actually had that fire

in 1961.

When I moved back to my hometown,

I had to learn the "ropes"

of doing a Tornado Drill.

(We were in Tornado alley in Indiana.)

The kids normally reacted 

like they did in a fire drill . . .

Until the length of time spent

in the "safe" areas 

of the building

was longer than normal.

It was eerie, 

so we had to keep the feeling light

or it could get bad.

Drug searches . . . 

keep the kids in the room

until the drug sniffing dogs

had worked the building.

These were the LONGEST

times we were in lock down

in our classes.

Somewhere along the way, 

we had to start teaching the kids

how to respond to "bomb threats."

Again, keep them quiet

and get them out of the building

and moved to a safe place.

Then,

in the last few years it came . . . 

CODE BLUE ! ! ! !

Get the kids out of their seats

and move them to a part of the room

where they can't be seen

from the hallway.

Then, the word came down

that we had to cover the glass

in the doors. . . 

now THAT drove me nuts.

I wanted to know what was going on.

I can still remember

closing my door and seeing a boy 

coming out of the bathroom.

I had to get him into my room.

Poor guy . . an 8th grader

having to sit in with a classroom

full of 6th graders.

It makes me sad

to think that the preparing

that the students did in Connecticut

actually came to fruition today.

So sad, and so unfair.

No child should ever

have to experience the trauma

that anyone of these drills

are to prepare them for.

My thoughts and prayers

go out to all of the families

whose children went to that school.

Whether they lost their children

or were lucky enough 

to be able to take them home.

None of their lives will ever be the same.

And the Faculty and staff

in that school

will never be able to fully relax

in their classrooms and offices

again.