The Wheels on the Bus (Redux)

Readers here may recall the Byzantine challenges faced by the school children of Knotts Island (The Wheels on the Bus, 12/7/07.)

Readers may also recall my anticipated participation in the Most Excellent California Christmas Ever (12/12/07) in Davis, about 10 miles west of Sacramento.

In what unlikely way are these two entries related?

Davis sits in the Pacific Flyway, a major migration route for waterfowl and other North American birds. The Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area provides habitat for thousands of resident and migratory waterfowl on more than 2,500 acres of wetlands.

Knotts Island sits in the Atlantic Flyway. The MacKay National Wildlife Refuge provides a sanctuary for thousands of migratory waterfowl on more than 8,000 acres of primarily wetlands and marshes.

Davis and Knotts Island are flat and low (elevations of 51 and 10 feet respectively.) Agriculture dominates both areas. Big green John Deere farm equipment dots the landscapes. Ginormous pickup trucks are also common to both areas. Many in this area have Confederate flag licence plates on the front. California requires a state issued front plate.

Davis covers about 10 square miles. Knotts Island covers perhaps 20 square miles, with better than half being the MacKay Refuge.

Davis bills itself as a "a university-oriented city with a progressive, vigorous community noted for its small-town style, energy conservation, environmental programs, parks, preservation of trees, red double-decker London buses, bicycles, and the quality of its educational institutions."

Knotts Island describes itself by acknowledging that "not many people have ever heard of us. We're generally unknown to the travelers who visit North Carolina's Outer Banks every year."

The City of Davis was founded in 1868. Knotts Island is unincorporated, so was never really founded, per se. The Outer Banks were formed about 8,000 years ago after the glaciers melted.

The population of Davis is about 65,000. The population of Knotts Island, by my guess, is about 1,000. I could be way off.

Davis has more than 50 miles of bicycle paths and more bicycles per capita than any other city in the nation. Knotts Island has no bike paths. I am one of, perhaps two or three adults that I have seen publicly riding a bicycle.

Davis has 10 elementary schools in addition to secondary schools ,alternative schools, etc. Knotts Island has a small elementary school. Period.
O.K., so Davis is a comparatively large progressive place with thousands of kids, a Starbucks and a Borders, and probably a Gap. Knotts Island is a backwater with a couple of hundred kids, a small post office, country store, and a restaurant (of sorts.)

What's the point?

Knotts Island school children are bussed to schools, some across state lines - some by ferry, that lie in two states and are as much as 40 miles apart.
The City of Davis, California does not own a school bus. Not one (they do lease several from a bordering town to transport kids with special needs.) Every child walks, rides a bike, gets driven, or (in the case of some high schoolers, I suppose) drives.

I am at a loss to draw a conclusion from this except that Davis probably has healthier kids.

Thank you for visiting.

Jack