We walked the line...

This morning I had to accompany my almost-18 year old (yikes!) into school to excuse him for two periods he missed on Wednesday.

The Mission:
Walk 100 feet from the school's door to the Attendance Office to obtain the required 3x5 piece of paper, The Excuse Note.

The Setting:
Today was a day to wear the school colors (Red and Black) in preparation for the Friday Evening Football Game. A sea of red--T-shirts, necklaces, sweaters--greeted us as we snaked our way through the melee of young people aged eleven to eighteen. This takes some skill, really. You have to watch out for cell phone talkers, 7-Eleven coffee cup toters, and the teachers trying to get to their classrooms before the kids do.

The Soundtrack:
On Fridays, the school plays music over the loudspeaker. As we entered the building a new song started up. The combined image of Joaquin Phoenix/Johnny Cash (Johnny Phoenix?, Joaquin Cash?) popped into my head as we heard the opening strains of "Walk the Line". I was getting into it. But, alas, then the song was interrupted by the loudspeaker as a student was asked to report to the office. And then we were dropped back into Memphis mid-song. And then, the loudspeaker came on again. By then we had reached our destination and were waiting in line for the required Note.

My Rather Obvious Observation and a Rhetorical Question:
In that short walk I remembered the good things about high school: the friends, the socializing, the dreaming about the future. Then we got to the Attendance Office... Well, I guess life is filled with "Attendance Offices," right? Does it really have to be that way?