Field trip! Field trip!

I was eating lunch outside the other day and saw a group of Catholic school-uniformed elementary school children on a field trip. Awww ... how cute. It reminded me of when we used to go trouncing along on field trips. What nice memories of sweet freedom from the classroom. The air was crisper and the sunshine was more brilliant... Who cares if we were heading to the opera to watch Pirates of Penzance?

I was suddenly brought from my reverie by this woman screaming "JOSHUA!! What did I tell you about wandering?!" A contrite Joshua was led by his arm back to the group. "Stop feeding the pigeons!!" Another yell. Another guilty-looking child stops in mid-throw. "HANS! HAAANNNSS!! Get away from the fountain!! Get back here!!" Hans, who was perched on the edge of the fountain eased his way back to firmer ground. The lady turned to the other woman beside her and said, "I thought he was going to FALL IN and BREAK HIS NECK!" as if she had caught him contemplating a swan dive. Okay lady, Hans was not going to fall into the fountain, much less break his neck. I have to agree about the pigeons though, the pigeons are out of control. They're like little robots all mechanically bobbing toward errant crumbs.

Were field trips always this stressful? I don't rememer this much yelling. Have my memories been retouched with the passage of time?