Feelin' the burn

Got myself a farmer's tan last weekend. A local county airport had an air show and I spent a large part of the day there, standing in the sun... something I normally avoid. One of my granddaughters has joined a youth auxiliary attached to the county rescue squad. She'll be learning rescue techniques and discovering if this is a venture she'd like to pursue. The squad was on-call at the airport and the auxiliary had a booth, selling bottles of water and taking contributions to support their activities. My granddaughter had to be at the squad headquarters at 9am. I took her so her mother could come later with the rest of the family, including two visiting cousins. The day was perfect for the show. Tickets were sold for rides on a WWll-era bi-plane, a small helicopter and a Cessna. I got my grandson a ticket for a ride in the Cessna, an early birthday present. He'd never flown before and the ride would last 15-20 minutes, giving him a good taste of flying. His younger brother and cousins flew in the helicopter, a short lift-off, circling, and landing flight. All of the fledglings enjoyed their first experience in flight. I got the burn while standing in line, waiting for their take-offs and landings. It hasn't been that painful... except when I forget and scratch.

All my grandchildren are now in school, learning their ABCs, guzzintas, and all kinds of history, science and math that didn't exist and hadn't happened or been discovered when I was in school. It's a good thing that children are smarter these days... they have a lot to learn. I had watched and read some of the foo-fa-rah about President Obama's planned speech to school children this week. Some schools opted out of allowing pupils to watch the speech. Some lawmakers and political pols claimed he was going to use the speech to garner votes for his agenda. One clip showed a woman saying she didn't want any of that socialistic talk stuffed down her children's throat. Take responsibility for your education and study... wonder how many of the children's votes that cost him. Sometimes I think I missed the announcement of a new directive: Go forth and be stupid. Fortunately, I just have to remember my genius grandchildren and their friends to counter my angst.