We will just call the student Hunter. The number one reason…simply because I like that name. And…for the second reason…his relatives were always hunting for excuses to explain his growing number of absences. Something told me that I might should doubt some of the reasons. Sometimes a teacher can just tell when the truth is not exactly emerging!

And then, Spring Break came along and the child did not return to school after the break. Instead of a one week vacation, he enjoyed more than a two week vacation. Upon his return, I received the most classic and elaborate absence excuse note in the history of absence excuse notes! This was upwards towards 20 years ago and I have saved a copy of the note…it is just that confusing and that interesting and just plain…

DOUBTFUL!!!! SEE IF YOU AGREE!!!!

“To the teacher:

During Spring Break, my family went to visit a son in North Carolina. We went by plane and came back by bus. The bus we took to get back to Texas made 3 stops and 2 layovers. We left North Carolina on Sunday morning and were supposed to arrive back in Texas Monday or Tuesday night. The bus broke down coming out of North Carolina and there were no more buses left for us to take. So, we had to spend another night with the son.

The next morning, the bus was ready to leave. We made our first stop in Tennessee. That was OK I guess. The next stop was in Alabama. That was OK too. Now, here’s where we had a big problem. The layover was in Mississippi. The layover was supposed to be for only 4 to 5 hours. But it ended up lasting 2 to 4 days. 

Some man on the bus stole this lady’s purse and gave it away and the police wouldn’t let anyone out of the bus station until it was returned. The purse was returned the next morning. Wednesday morning, the bus needed some small work so we didn’t leave until late Wednesday night. The next stop was in Arkansas. After that, the driver was so tired that he took a wrong turn and we ended up in Atlanta, GA. We stayed there for about 8 hours. They had to call another bus driver to drive us to Texas. After that, we made it home Friday morning, but we were so tired from that long bus ride that we just came home and went to sleep.

Please excuse him from school the week after Spring Break. It really wasn’t our fault. We were on our way home. If you have any questions about the trip, call me. Thanks a lot.”

Doubtful or Not Doubtful? You decide! I just feel sorry for that poor bus driver for making the wrong turn in Arkansas! I do wonder…did anything happen in Louisiana? Personally, I would have made a stop in New Orleans!

 

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