Henderson Street resident raises concerns about Southeast students

~Write to the editor at editor@southeastArrow.com

Dear Mr. Editor,

Welcome back to another school year. As a resident living on Henderson, my entire family looks forward to the SEMO students returning. Although we are not from Missouri, we are huge fans of the Redhawks. We attend the football, girls soccer, basketball, baseball and softball games, and my daughter has fallen in love with the gymnastics team.

However, as a resident on Henderson, my husband and I do not look forward to the trash and beer bottles scattered in our front yard, the fire trucks that park in front of our house 50 times per semester, but mostly the traffic. Let me share with you a prime example.

We have two elementary school students. They have to be at school every day, just like the SEMO students. Both of my kids play multiple sports, i.e. soccer, basketball, baseball, gymnastics. They too have to be at their practices and games on time, just like the Redhawk athletes. Just like the SEMO population, my kids come home every night.

However, for whatever reason, the drivers on Henderson typically do not think we have a right to leave our house, exit our driveway and drive on Henderson. Each day we pull in and out of our driveway a bazillion times. Almost every day we get honked at, cursed at and, my personal favorite, the hand gestures (fabulous example for my elementary kids).

Every day students walk, run, ride their bikes on our driveway. I am not cursing or hand gesturing at them. When the football players ride their scooters and honk their horns down Henderson, my kids run outside to wave. When the boys are outside drinking beer at 2 p.m. on the corner of Broadway and Henderson, I am not yelling four-letter words out of my car window.

What about those guys on their John Deere carts playing "chicken" or "bumper cars" on Henderson today? Really? And every day I have to slam on my brakes or take out a pedestrian who cannot use a crosswalk. Are you kidding me? Yes, actually I am calling you an "idiot" under my breath.

As we were leaving for our first day of school this morning, my son asked, "Why are these drivers so rude? Don't they know we are just trying to get to school on time, too?"

As I pick up Cheetos bags, Gatorade bottles, Bud Light cans and Marlboro's I think to myself, "It goes with the territory of living on Henderson."

I really wish the SEMO student body would think to themselves, "Wow, this family might have to be somewhere on time. Maybe I should tap my brakes. It goes with driving on Henderson."

Oh and P.S. the speed limit on Henderson is not 45 mph.