Loyal Scaiaholics will recall I long for a simpler time. That blog from outside a school shooting Arlington focused on an era when kids could stumble into school a minute before 1st period started and still get to class on time. An era when we snuck out to pick up party subs during school.

“If you include your teacher in the selection process, he’ll probably write you a hall pass,” I envisioned telling the next generation of insubordinate truants.

Of course, it turned out that wasn’t insubordination or truancy. Instead, it was my teachers and classmates laying the groundwork for me becoming the best reporter in Texas.

Parents are now waiting for a spot to pick up their kids outside Lamar HS. Arlington PD is telling parents not to come to the school. They’ll announce a pick up location when the lockdown is lifted. The shooting was before school started, so not all students were on campus. pic.twitter.com/0eY8Ut9EvS

— Alan Scaia (@scaia) March 20, 2023

Turns out, we all long for a simpler time. We had two shootings outside schools in DFW this week. After the first one, I went to shove my microphone in parents’ faces who’d gone to pick up their kids.

But a student gave me the pick-me-up I needed, honoring the memory of all us 20th century slackers by explaining he doesn’t particularly enjoy going to school regardless of what’s happening outside.

The following day, we had a shooting outside a school in Dallas.

As a gentle reminder, Thomas Jefferson High School was hit by a tornado in 2019. The principal explained a situation similar to Joe Pesci’s plight but in a much more profound manner.

A colleague was dispatched to shove her microphone in peoples’ faces at the high school this morning. I had cautioned against it. You see, the day kids return after a school shooting, police are often not terribly excited to see people skulkin’ around outside and wandering up to children.

As a lesson to the next generation of journalists, allow me impart: Do your microphone shovin’ before everyone comes back to get their mind back on their studies.

But the principal at TJ High School says there’s a reason to hope. He says three of his employees ran toward the gunfire to do what they could help.

The students at Lamar High School in Arlington say their teachers stepped up, too.

Listen, kids, instead of violence, maybe get a party sub and just hash things out. But in both these cases, the teachers knew what to do. The principal at TJ High School also explained the situation more eloquently than, “Back in my day, they just had to monitor party subs.”