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So, here we are, halfway through the month of May. Another school year is about to end. It seems like it was just a couple of months ago that local schoolchildren were grumbling about having to end their summer vacation and hit the books once again. Now, all of them are smiling from ear to ear – my middle school-bound grandson included, that their return to those carefree days of summer is just around the corner.

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While on the subject of kids, I read an article this past weekend about another really dumb challenge making its rounds on social media.

This one – labeled the “Chromebook Challenge” – encourages students to place objects, such as a paper clip or pencil lead, into the charging port or USB ports of their school-issued laptop. Doing so can cause the computer to short circuit. It also causes the lithium-ion batteries in laptop to overheat (as high as 750 degrees) and begin to smoke, potentially leading to a fire that could cause physical injury as well as igniting a residential fire.

According to CBS News, one school in New Hampshire said last week that it saw 15 incidents of the challenge over three days.

Child safety should be at the top of every parent’s list. I would encourage them to warn their school-age kids about the dangers of this challenge. Additionally, it would hurt the finances of the parents having to fork over $300 to $500 to replace a Chromebook. Meanwhile, their kid doesn’t have a device to perform their schoolwork, possibly leading to have to repeat a grade.

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Pardon the pun, but let’s shift gears for a moment and talk about traffic and our local highways.

I know that my friends over at NCDOT (particularly Division One) grow tired of me talking about the recent changes to the Murfreesboro Bypass. But, as someone who has held a driver’s license for nearly 56 years (uninterrupted…meaning I haven’t lost them for any period of time due to doing something stupid while behind the wheel) it still bothers me that someone thinks I’m unable to safely cross a four-lane highway.

I travel to Murfreesboro (from work as well as from my home in Northampton County) quite often. Every time I’m forced to play the silly game of “loopty loop.” Coming from Ahoskie on NC 11, I have to turn east on the Murfreesboro Bypass, travel a short distance, make a u-turn and then travel west, and then turn right back onto NC 11 to reach Murfreesboro.

If traveling, from home, to Murfreesboro on US 258, I get to play the game again….east onto the Murfreesboro Bypass, a u-turn so I can head west on the same road before turning right (north) onto US 158/258 Business. The reverse order is followed upon departing Murfreesboro to get back home.

This past Saturday, while headed to Napolis in Murfreesboro to pick up supper, I purposely waited for nearly 30 seconds at the stop sign on US 258 North at the bypass to count the number of vehicles traveling either east or west on the bypass. There were a grand total of zero vehicles.

I’ve been seriously considering keeping up with my mileage while participating in the loopty loop game and submitting it to NCDOT for payment.

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While on the subject of NCDOT, I wish one of their workers would take a ride along the Hertford County end of Hebron Church Road and document the potholes.

That road is in terrible shape. Other than the typical wear-and-tear (which was compounded a few years ago by someone driving a tractor and they forget to raise their plow/disk/planter to the proper height and severely damaged the road), there are two major potholes before reaching the first curve. Both are growing in size and depth.

Without repair, these potholes are going to cause major damage to a vehicle. The worst case scenario will be an accident…single vehicle or a multi car crash should one swerve out near that blind curve in an effort to avoid hitting the potholes.

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For the last lap around this week’s column, I want to add to add my two cents to the words shared recently by my esteem newsroom colleague, Holly Taylor.

In her column this past Saturday, Holly addressed Murphy’s Law: “anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” She came up with a list of words that a person could use when they become frustrated due to something going haywire in their lives.

Some say that Murphy was an optimist, but all I really know about him is that Air Force Captain Edward A. Murphy accidentally stumbled upon his now-famous line while working on a special project at Edwards Air Force Base in 1949.

However, Murphy isn’t alone when it comes to the proverbial wheels falling off life’s bandwagon. Personally, I can come-up with a few hateful little morsels that make our lives here on Earth so frustrating. Here’s a sampling:

If you’re running late, you’ll get stuck behind the slowest vehicle.

If you’re in the shortest checkout line, there’s a 100 percent chance of a lengthy wait due to a price check.

Keeping on the same theme as the previous line, once reaching the cashier, chances are great that they will either (a) have to replace the paper in the receipt device; (b) run out of change and have to wait for someone to bring those dreaded coin rollers to the cashier; or, in the worse case scenario, (c) all of the above.

You can be operating the only car approaching an intersection and the traffic light will turn red.

If you arrive early for work to impress the boss, make plans to stay late because he/she will load you down with added chores.

Just about the time you break in a good shirt you’ll be forced to use it as a Chamois to dry your car.

The day you leave home dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, the weather will turn ugly. Ditto for leaving home dressed in long sleeves and pants as the weather will turn sunny and hot.

As you sit down for a long-awaited meal, your phone will ring or someone will knock at your door.

A toothache always arrives just in time for the weekend, when the dentist office is closed.

Your car radio will lose the station’s signal just as the guitar solo kicks in on your favorite song.

That little squeak coming from your car carries a big price tag to repair.

You have all six numbers right on the $100 million Lotto jackpot only to learn 99 others have the identical set of numbers.

Thanks for your time this week so I could ramble on about this and that!

Cal Bryant is the Editor of Roanoke-Chowan Publications. Contact him at cal.bryant@r-cnews.com or 252-332-7207.