Daaaad!

Rain Price is sixteen. That’s an age when kids typically get their driver’s license and start enjoying lording their new-found automotive freedom over their younger and hence less license-equipped classmates. However, in Price’s case, he still takes the school bus. There could be many reasons for this – the family may not be able to afford for him to drive, he may not have enough hours on his learner’s permit, or, just maybe, it’s because his dad wants to embarrass the crap out of him.

You see, the guy in the pirate garb in the lead picture happens to be Dale Price, Rain’s dad, and he discovered that the school bus on which Rain rode to school happened to pass by their house every morning, so he decided to wave hi to his son. And he would do so while wearing a different costume every single day. How cool is that?

There were mermaids, there were soccer stars, Star Trek captains, and blushing brides. Having your dad wave at you in front of all your peers is bad enough, him doing so while in wedding drag could potentially scar you for life. But then again, what’s family for?
This all started the first day of Rain’s sophomore year, and continued, pretty much unabated for the next 170 school days, with a new costume every single day. Price the elder put a huge amount of effort into the daily costumed greeting, showing up as Elvis, Batgirl, Nacho Libre, Santa Claus, the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz, and of course Princess Leia complete with danish-shaped earmuffs.
Rain Price was at first horrified by his father’s choice of morning routine, but eventually resigned himself to acceptance and the knowledge that many hours of therapy in the future were in store. Other kids on the bus of course loved the spectacle – something every sixteen-year old seeks to avoid when they are at the center – and many would drop the bus windows and wave back at Dale. Seeing the senior Price in his bridal gown it’s hard to see why this wouldn’t be the highlight of their trip, or even their entire day.
Family members got wind of Dale’s efforts to stigmatize his son and began documenting the daily debasement. A full chronicle of the morning freak and greet can be found at their website – Wave At The Bus. According to the family, Rain hasn’t been permanently damaged by his father’s shenanigans, and in fact maintains a 4.0 GPA in spite of his dark shame.
You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but one thing you can’t pick is your family. You can only be so lucky as to have someone swimming in your gene pool who has both the sense of humor and the gumption to stick with a mission that’s as endearing and whacked as that of Dale Price’s.
Image and story source:[desertnews.com]

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  1. Feds_II Avatar
    Feds_II

    Wizard of Ox!?!? Reminds me of a show I saw in Tijuana, though I think the human star would be more accurately billed as a Witch/Sorceress.
    Also: Isn't this kid traumatized enough by being named Rain? Some people's parents…

    1. Feds_II Avatar
      Feds_II

      POW!

  2. dukeisduke Avatar
    dukeisduke

    Can you say "patricide"? Sure, I knew you could.

  3. DrJomamachubby Avatar
    DrJomamachubby

    When your house number has rotational symmetry other epic acts of coolness is just your fate.

  4. tonyola Avatar
    tonyola

    "Bridal gown" instead of "bridle". It's a newlywed, not a horse, though it's certainly no prettier than a horse.
    You know that in about 20 years, you'll be seeing these pictures again when the talking heads on the HoloNews channels attempt to find an explanation as to why Rain Price tried to shoot the President.

  5. dragon951 Avatar
    dragon951

    "…and in fact maintains a 4.0 GPA in spite of his dark shame."
    I would posit that he maintains his GPA with the help of his dark shame. Scare the cool kids away from your son, like so many fathers do to their daughters' dates. It's genius!

    1. dukeisduke Avatar
      dukeisduke

      It's so he can get a full scholarship to Oxford, and move an ocean away.

  6. dolo54 Avatar
    dolo54

    that's just not right! someone call protective services.

  7. OA5599 Avatar
    OA5599

    Whenever I get my $#!+ together enough to start a Lemons team, I want this guy in the costume shop.

  8. Smells_Homeless Avatar
    Smells_Homeless

    Totally awesome. This coming from a guy whose mother once wrote a sick note ransom-style. Yep, all letters cut out of newspapers and magazines. I turned (tic) out alright (tic, spazz.)
    I think.

  9. Syrax Avatar
    Syrax

    I went to a private school that was funded by the police cause my mother was a cop. There's this big Police HQ right next to the school and she asked to be transferred there because think of the children! I feel like a heartless idiot saying this now but when the car stopped I was always half way out, sometimes even got out while it was still moving. We have this cruel sense of humor in my family that only seeks complete humiliation in public situations every time we can. Thankfully she was aware of that and knew I was only protecting the small fragment of reputation I had.

  10. dculberson Avatar
    dculberson

    MerMAN! [cough, cough] merMAN!!

  11. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
    Peter Tanshanomi

    "…he discovered that the school bus on which Rain rode to school happened to pass by their house every morning."
    I'm confused. Does he not live with his son? Where is Rain leaving for school from, if not "their house"?

  12. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
    Peter Tanshanomi

    Ah, that makes sense, should have thought that through. For 8 years I walked to my grade school and then went on to a Catholic high school w/ no bus service, so my only knowledge of school bus protocol is my current next-door-neighbor's kids, whose bus actually does pull up in front of their house every morning to pick them up. The driver will beep and wait about 15-20 seconds if they aren't already outside.

    1. dragon951 Avatar
      dragon951

      Damn, tell those kids to pass the Grey Poupon.
      /walked 2 miles to bus stop…In the snow, uphill both ways.

      1. Mike_the_Dog Avatar
        Mike_the_Dog

        I'll bet you were glad when it was your turn to wear the one pair of shoes you shared with your nine siblings!

  13. OA5599 Avatar
    OA5599

    Our bus route had only one residential stop (and one stop at school). The bus stop was about a half-mile from my house, but after morning pickup or afternoon dropoff, the bus would continue through the neighborhood on a path that took it to the stop sign in my front yard.
    On a particularly wet and stormy afternoon, I told the driver which house was mine and asked her if I could stay on the bus for that additional distance. She not only said yes, but she let me do it every afternoon and soon afterwards made her morning pickup there, too. The other 40 or 50 kids on the route had to use the official bus stop.
    This continued for several months, until my friend's older brother got a license and his folks made him shuttle us to/from school as a condition of being able to drive.

    1. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
      Peter Tanshanomi

      It was my mom's displeasure at having to drive me across town to school every morning, in the opposite direction from her job, that that eventually outweighed her dislike for motorcycles. "Mom, I can afford to buy this little Honda with my own money, and then I'll be able to get myself to and from school on my own!" It was the best selling job I ever did. I never thought it would work, but it did!
      Her condition for having a motorcycle was that I HAD to ride to school in the winter unless SHE decided the streets were too slick. One morning it was 18 degrees, but I was still happy with the deal.

  14. Gearhead Avatar
    Gearhead

    Around here, it's only the Short Bus that picks you up at your house.