My wife, Barbara, just returned from a week in Reno, Nev., along with two students from Clay County, Fla., and a coworker, Brenda Weeks. They attended the International Science and Engineering Fair.
This was her first trip to the International and that may account for the exuberance she displayed about the trip. Especially when she called me from Reno one morning to exclaim: “They won, Lamar, they won.” Then she broke down in tears.
The “they” in question are Mitchell Stecker and Alex Gandzyura, juniors at Ridgeview High School, who finished third and fourth in their respective divisions at the fair. Note that this is the INTERNATIONAL fair, meaning that they beat out students from all over the world, more than 1,500 I’m told. Quite an accomplishment by two exemplary young men from one small, rural county, and especially from one high school.
I won’t begin to try to explain what their projects were about but if you are interested, you can find out more by clicking here.

Barbara put it best when she said, “Lo0king at these kids, I know that we don’t have to worry about the future of the world.”

Mitchell is a veteran of the International fair and both he and Alex won at the county and state fairs earlier this year. Mitchell is already planning his trip to next year’s International in San Jose. I’m sure he and Alex will both qualify.

Alex was born in Russia and moved here with his mother several years ago. Barbara says he has a enjoyable sense of humor. She likes listening to his accent, especially when he refers to his fellow student as “Meetchell.”

I met Mitchell at the county fair and posted a video of him on my web site then. You can search through my archives to find it. There are photos of the boys in the gallery above.

While I was wrestling with 90-degree heat helping my uncle remove tree limbs and moss from his yard near Tarpon Springs,  Barbara was enjoying the 70-degree temperatures and actually having a snow-ball fight in the mountains near Reno. I was so envious.

In addition to taking two trips to the mountains, which Brenda paid for out of her own pocket, by the way, they also visited Virginia City, a pioneer-like tourist attraction, and ate at several of the hotel’s 10 restaurants. No gambling for this group, however, except for one $1 losing pull on a slot machine by my wife. You know, when in Rome . . . 

So, I want to congratulate Mitchell and Alex for their accomplishments and for the two educators who accompanied them. While Barbara and Brenda had fun, they also had the responsibility of watching over the boys and of logging 14-hour days in the process. 

The boys will be honored by the Clay County School Board at its May 21 meeting.

***********************

Now, some random comments from a random mind:

Even though most restaurants are modifying their prices due to the hard economic time a lot of their customers are experience, some are latching on to a devious strategy that governments quite often use to enhance their revenue streams, i.e. fees that the unsuspecting public might be slow to notice.
I was treating my favorite uncle to dinner at a popular wing house in New Port Richey, Fla., recently when I noticed this seldom-used tactic: charging 59 cents for one container of ranch dressing to go with the wings. Two sauce containers were delivered even though I was the only one who asked for it and who ate any. If I had known they were going to charge for it, I might have told them that we only needed one but hey, it was only 59 cents, right?
Right, but then where does it stop? Do they also start charging for ice water? Oh, wait! Some restaurants already do, as I found out the other night at a not-so-popular place that specializes in chicken tenders. (If you are getting the idea that I like chicken, you would be correct.) This restaurant charged 25 cents for a 12-ounce plastic container that I could use to help myself to all the water I wanted. Again, it is only 25 cents and it won’t break the bank of even us unemployed people, but it may be the start of a trend. Just thought you would like to know.

*******************************
While I am still uncomfortable with a number of things the Obama administration is doing in the name of economic resurrection, I do admire some of his calls to tone down the rhetoric in some of our country’s more heated debates.  I have long advocated a softer approach toward solving the problems of the world (except when it comes to defense of our nation) and think that a more moderate tone in negotiations is the best solution. 

If we all tried to see things from another’s perspective, we would be better off. I think about how far I have come in the past several decades, from a staunch, unflinching conservative to what you might even call a moderate today. And I feel better for it. My blood no longer boils when I encounter situations that I previously abhorred. And my blood pressure is better for it, too.

So, why don’t we all give moderation a chance. It wouldn’t hurt.