As someone who doesn't know a P-51 from a PT-109, the last place you would expect to find me is at an air show.

Earlier in the week, a Warthog flew directly over our house, east to west, presumably on its way to McGuire AFB. I was standing outside with the HVAC contractor and we just looked at each other and he said, "Have you ever seen anything like that before?" And I answered, "No, it must be experimental."

Now, I've snapped together many of the planes we saw today, including the Mustang, as models for my boys. So, when the Nighthawk flew overhead, Kenny was able to recognize it.

When we drove onto the base, Kenny exclaimed, "I can't believe I'm on a real military base!" He was so thrilled. I said, "I bet you didn't know there was one so close to home."

Parking was well-managed. Security was reasonable, that is, the search was sufficient and the line moved satisfactorily. The secure area dedicated to the show was huge! The noise of the F-18's scared the younger boys so much. We spent two hours looking at the planes on display. Most of them were open so that visitors could enter and look around.

The Thunderbirds were supposed to begin at 3PM but didn't get underway until 3:45. That near hour of practical silence was enough time for Chris to curl up on a cushy blanket with a travel pillow and fall asleep. The Thunderbirds were amazing and worth the time and effort to see. My kids have a DVD of the Blue Angels but in person makes a lasting impression.

$40 in souvenirs. About 300,000 people are supposed to attend over the course of the weekend. Hopefully the air show will be an experience that my boys remember and talk about for some time.

"Security Tightened for Air Show at McGuire", Channel 6 Action News, ABC, WPVI Philadelphia

"Thousands Attend Air Show" - Courier-Post Online, 5/13/07

"Millstoners weigh in on budget vote" - Examiner, 5/10/07:

[T]he school tax rate in Millstone will increase by about 21 cents this year and will be $1.99 per $100 of assessed value.

Thatcher said he believes the school district "is going overboard with technology."

As for the full-day kindergarten, Thatcher said he doesn't know why that he, as a taxpayer, would have to provide nursery service for township kids.

"I'm not going to pay for baby-sitting," he said.

Grbelja said since the township in recent years changed its zoning to require developers to have larger lots in order to build, the number of children entering the school district has slowed.

Resident Dave Kurzmann said he does not believe the Millstone Township School District should be considered a part of the state's "I" District Factor Group (DFG).

The DFG measures a district's socioeconomic status, and ranges from "A" being the poorest districts to "J" being the wealthiest.

"There's not a lot of money in this town like some people think," he said.

Matthews said the children in her son's third-grade class all have laptops ...

I didn't want Kenny to attend kindergarten in trailers in the public school system.

Yet, if I waited until he was kindergarten age before beginning private school, he might not be accepted into the program.

So I entered him into the private school program at the earliest possible age. Yes, it was difficult to justify the full-day tuition on a half-day attention span. Kenny took naps at pre-school, almost every day.

Timmy gave up naps before he turned 2. So I wasn't paying his pre-school teacher to watch him sleep. He enters kindergarten in the fall and reads three-letter words and sounds out five- and six-letter words. He can write some words. For instance, he made a sign to hang on his old bedroom's door - a room he vacated this past weekend so that it may be renovated - which reads, "No Mom In!" (Have I mentioned before that he is very disturbed and uncomfortable with our present home remodel project?!)

I state Timmy's abilities because they are evidence of what a good instructional program can do with a child of average (or perhaps below-average) abilities. So, would I be able to enter him into a half-day public program after two years of full-day attendance? No, not even if the trailers have been turned into classrooms.

On the one hand, adults tell me, "Oh, kids get pushed too hard these days in school. Let 'em be kids!" Then other adults complain that kids today don't know nothin'. Kenny's preschool teacher told me that three-year-olds are sponges and the trick is to cram as much into their heads as possible. I tend to believe that - I've seen it! There's no question that young, young children benefit from structured learning. The only question is who should fund it - the child's parents through tuition or the child's community through taxes.

"Why vote in Millstone?" the hand-painted wooden sign along Stillhouse Road read. And even before seeing the weekly newspaper this evening, I had the whole story.

"Millstone officials counter vote with yes, no, yes, yes" - Examiner, 5/10/07:

The Township Committee voted to restore the budget and two of the three other requests for funding.

Mayor Nancy Grbelja said the close vote in the election indicated to her that people wanted the township government to review the budget, which she did.

Committeeman Elias Abilheira said he had gone through the "inches of documents" the school district provided about the budget "with a fine-tooth comb."

Committeeman Ramin Dilfanian said he saw "no fat" in the budget.

Abilheira said it troubled him to see that the school district has already created facilities for the kindergarten program at a "significant hit to taxpayers."

Abilheira said taxpayers already spent money for the classroom and in his decision about the current question he had to consider the voters who passed the initial referendum for the creation of the facility.

"To leave the classroom empty would be a bigger waste of money," he said.

Board of Education president Mary Ann Friedman called the governing body's decision to restore the budget an affirmation of the fiscal responsibility the board and school administration exercised.

It is finished.

My scanner isn't connected:

"Dr. Holly Roberts: Eliminating Suffering in All the Little Ways She Can" by Jo Schloeder

To most people, living a life of total nonviolence and "nonabundance" sounds unattainable - a lofty goal, perhaps, but just not realistic. To Dr. Holly Roberts, living a simple existence without taking the breath of any living thing has become her life's work.

"I believe in trying to live without killing," she explained. "As they say in Indian beliefs, I try to 'not take the breath of life from any being.'"

Author, lecturer, obstetrician-gynecologist, and theologian Holly Roberts, D.O., Ph.D., '02 was in the Little Theatre on January 23 to discuss the spiritual, philosophical, and theological perspective of Indian religions and philosophies. She was there as part of GCU's Women of Witness series, which celebrates the lives and achievements of women of faith and influence in history and contemporary society. Dr. Roberts, who received her master's degree in theology from Georgian Court before completing a Ph.D. in Asian religion, has authored numerous books. Her latest work about the Analects of Confucius will be released this year.

As the audience sampled vegetarian Indian snacks and listened intently to her fascinating discussion of the tenets of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, one could easily imagine Dr. Roberts sitting cross-legged with the Dalai Lama or breaking bread with Gandhi. It is evident that Dr. Roberts, a lifelong vegetarian, not only studies and teaches the pacifist, "non-accumulation" philosophies of the East - she lives, breathes, and eats them.

"We live in 'nonabundance' ... except for my books," she admitted softly. Dressed modestly in a long-skirted suit with her youthful blonde hair neatly tucked behind her head, Dr. Roberts described how she and her husband share one car, sleep on a futon, and have only a handful of furniture.

"We have made a conscious effort to eliminate the greatest suffering we can in all the little ways we can. It feels good not to buy," she assured.

The lecture moved attendees Andrea Rittenhouse '06 and her husband, Dennis, to action. "We have just agreed to put solar panels on the roof," she said. She added, "I admire Holly because she is someone who has managed to put her money where her mouth is and live the principles she espouses."

Georgian Court University Magazine, Spring 2007, 39.

Her book, Vegetarian Christian Saints.

Our paths crossed in the fall of '01. The class may have been "Gospel of John" with Dr. Schubert. Nine-eleven happened. The Muslim woman did not return. Holly was concerned about Israel being wiped off the map. I had no idea what she was getting at.

Fast forward to the following summer, we took Greek together.

Few others had any foreign language exposure. She did better than the rest at picking it up cold. She brought vegetarian snacks and Indian food each Saturday. I was pregnant with Timothy who arrived a week after class ended. Saturday after Saturday, I ate my turkey sandwich and potato chips and diet soda. She didn't take offense and I wasn't trying to vex her.

We graduated at the same time. I remember her three lovely daughters - she seemed as young as they. I'm happy that she earned her Ph.D. (from where?). There's not much else to say except that she lives entirely by her principles, without any hint of hypocrisy and, eh, forgive me, but solar panels have absolutely nothing to do with what Holly is about. And yet, she wouldn't strike the idea down as I have; she would be encouraging.

"Does anyone know why this park is called 'Seven Presidents,'" the park naturalist began.

Kenny's hand shot up in reply; his was the only hand and I knew that he knew. I murmured in assurance to those parents around me, "Kenny knows this."

"Because seven presidents had their vacations here." The naturalist was surprised that he knew. It didn't seem like a difficult question.

Chris was too chatty to sit for the presentation, so he and I stepped outside. I watched the presentation through a window but couldn't hear anything.

Afterwards, several parents and his teacher complimented me on Kenny's intelligent answers. I noticed that, at first, the naturalist was reluctant to call on Kenny, wanting to give other children a chance. But, when she saw that no other children were really ready to answer, calling on Kenny kept the presentation moving along. Eventually, he even won her and her teaching partner over and, though I couldn't hear the discussion, it seemed quite lively and involved.

I used to worry that, after all these years, his fellow students just let him answer, knowing that he will, without bothering to give it another thought. But, he has some really smart classmates, too, and when they know the answer, they volunteer it. So, he isn't shutting anyone down. He isn't your typical know-it-all kid in that he isn't competitive about what he knows. He truly wants to inform others. Showing off doesn't enter his mind.

The field trip was a joint one with the second grade, and his teacher was pleased that her class could hold their own. Even the second grade teacher, whom Kenny may have next year, felt compelled to say a word to me about Kenny's sustained interest. That much I could tell through the window: that Kenny was alert and engaged for the entire hour while the focus of the other children waxed and waned.

There was time spent on the beach, collecting shells, a picnic lunch and time on the playground before returning to school.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: we have the best county parks in NJ!

Most of the new windows are in, so we don't hear plastic cover snapping in the wind anymore.

I like the transom above the corner window. You can make out the new siding color, wicker.