I chaperoned a field trip today for Michael's kindergarten class. It goes without saying that TEACHERS NEED A RAISE! It was a lot like herding cats; I have no idea how his teacher does this day after day after day!
The field trip was to a helicopter pilot training school; one of the largest in the country. Very cool.
The kids saw a movie that extended beyond even my attention span. The main character was a very strange fellow named Mike who was on a mission to find out where planes slept. He toured a navy airbase and was also on the carrier Nimitz. All I could think was: 1. Was he paid in drugs or a lot of money to behave this way? and 2. Was he wearing any underwear? Yes, folks, it was really that bad. At the end of the movie when we FINALLY got to the hangars and Mike fell asleep, I burst out with "Oh Toto, there really is no place like home!"
After the movie, the kids got to sit in a helicopter. Woo hoo! Okay, I realize I'm being a cynic here, but let me say it again: woo hoo. Out on the runway was the Zero G plane. Now THERE'S a field trip I could get behind!


As a reward for being so well-behaved, the director of the school had the fuel truck brought around for the kids to be photographed with. Yes. The fuel truck. I hate being redundant, but I really have to say it again. "woo hoo." Wait! I partially take that back! Get a load of the fueler guy; the one squatting on the left! Oh baby! He can fuel my engine any time! In retrospect, maybe it was really a reward for the chaperones!
Once all the airborne hoopla was complete, we reboarded the school bus for our next destination. We went to an area park for a picnic and some playtime.
This is where things really became inappropriate!
In the ladies room, one of the stall doors had been thusly graffiti'ed:

Of course I strongly disagree with the sentiment, but I don't think my taking a picture of the door warranted the glare I got from the mother coming out of the other stall!
In the pavilion where the kids ate was the cage that would normally surround a soda machine. Actually, it took me a moment to realize what the cage was for as I noticed it only after photographing the stall door.

I laughingly told Michael's teacher about the stall door and the cage. Then I suggested that it would be a great picture if we had all the kids get into it!
"I really don't think the school board would see any humor in that picture." she said.
Hmmm. I wonder if I'll be asked to chaperone another field trip!