I have been lucky in my career to travel to Washington DC several times with students. I started the stories last week of the 2009 Inauguration trip. Today I tell the story of what can go wrong on a trip. From the title you can probably guess where this is headed, We are still not sure if it was the fish but I am a believer. One student was horribly sick in the middle of the night. We had a fish dinner when we got to Baltimore and we were going to Mount Vernon the next day. There was no way this student could make the trip to Mount Vernon or anywhere else for that matter. She needed to be within a few feet of the restroom at all times. As the non-Social Studies teacher, I got the task of staying behind. The whole next day was an ordeal. The doctor wanted them to have a special medicine and so they called in a prescription to a CVS in downtown Baltimore on a weekend. First, it was hard to find a place that was open, and then the issue of health insurance. In Colorado, United Health is a regular insurance company used by thousands of people. In Maryland, at the time the company named United Health was the health insurance for the indigent. CVS didn’t want to take it and it was quite an ordeal. It was snowing and I am wandering in downtown Baltimore looking for help at a pharmacy. We finally got it and they felt better and were able to complete the trip with no more problems. The poor mother had to talk to me every time I checked on the student. By the end of the day the student, their mother, and I were all good friends. The student went on to become a fantastic English teacher and we lost a good teacher when they left the field a couple of years ago. The picture I posted for today is missing two people from Mount Vernon. I said at the beginning that I have been to Washinton DC several times but to this day I have never been to Mount Vernon.
