Some of what I learned at Floyd Bennett Field last week:

Two of the 9th grade HS kids were the "drill" team... pre-drilling the 2"
thick oak flooring boards for nailing for the trail shelter deck. They had
been working on pre-layout and cutting and by the time they got to the
drilling they were psyched. They both had battery drills. So one kid starts
drilling and the other kid says, "I bet I can drill faster than you." He
starts drilling. I'm standing there and watching and nothing much is
happening but noise and a spinning chuck. The first kid looks back, having
completed two holes and says quite seriously, "Yeah, you really are going
fast."

I'm wondering how long this will go. The drill is turning, obviously, quite
well. A small lump of sawdust forms (reminding me of termite scat) as the kid
leans in. Finally I stop him and show him the directional switch on the
handle. It seems obvious enough, but I laugh with him and tell him, "You can
always go real fast but it helps to know your direction if you want to get
there."

When I left them off for the bus at end of day on Saturday the kids told me
to go see the Spiderman movie. It was a fair trade of good information as I
see it.

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