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]