Happy New Year!

Well, it's time to start a new year...and with that, a new resolution- to blog, blog, blog! So let's get started...with the first school of the new year...

Today took me to Crown Point, IN- home of Jerry Ross Elementary School. This was a school originally scheduled for earlier in the fall but got moved to...today! The school is named after Col. Jerry Ross, who is a NASA astronaut and a member of a fairly recent Shuttle mission (and I believe a Space Station stay). It is a relatively new school, with a great gymnasium.

I arrived in the area (actually Merrillville) about 10:30am, and with a little time to kill, proceeded to one of my favorite places- Panera Bread on US 30, to get a snack while making a few calls and getting some email out. I headed over to the school about 11:40am, arriving there shortly after 12 noon. I was greeted by principal Jennifer Johannson, who in turn introduced me to my "Road Crew" for the afternoon, which were the 4 members of the Janitorial/Maintenance staff. Wow! With their help, we were set up in about 45 minutes!

The shows went great- as usual, I had the privilege of talking to some great students, and they really enjoyed "Count On Me". We did 2 showings- one for the 2nd and 3rd graders, and one for the 4th and 5th graders. It was really a great way to start the new year!

The drive home was fairly uneventful, except for the fact that I noticed just in time that my gas gauge was a bit south of the last red mark...uh oh! Good thing that there was a trusty Speedway on the way home. :-)

Tomorrow...the Avery Coonley school in Downers Grove- stay tuned...