For Thursday, May 22, 1997 Drummer Column, Gibbs, 730 words

Water measures

It's Spring Week at the high school. That means every day this week we're dressing funny and playing games at lunch. Tuesday was '60s Day, and many students and teachers sported their tie-dies.

All went well except for a slight disturbance at the start of a gymnasium rally. A couple of mischievous elder boys tossed water balloons into the bleachers. Several kids got wet, some of them got upset, and the floor got wet, which created a performance hazard. We had to cancel the rally before it started. Everyone went back to class. Well, sort of.

The cancellation created a rebellious ripple through the masses. Students went outside, but not back to class. They hung in the quads as if it were lunch. I guess they figured if they couldn't have their rally, they at least wanted the rally time.

Teachers and administrators tried gallantly to herd students back to their pre-rally 3rd period classes. However, most of the students remained inert or wandered aimlessly until the next bell. Then everyone went to 4th period class. It was like a mini '60s protest.

Lunch was normal.

After school we had a voluntary faculty meeting to discuss what had happened, if and how we would reschedule the rally, and what we would do about further water fights.

Now, mark me, these are important concerns. With a campus of over 1,400 students, what starts as a water fight could end in a fist fight or worse. I attended the meeting. It was serious in tone. We came up with several good ideas. However, as we discussed the issues, I couldn't help feeling quietly elated. I was as concerned as the rest, but happy that we were dealing with kids throwing water balloons and not hand-grenades. Many schools meet like this to discuss crime and death. Benicia teachers were gathering to stop indoor balloon throwing. It made me feel like I was back in the '60s for real, or perhaps the '50s. I turned around and Norman Rockwell was sitting in the aisle, painting my picture.

Spring is naturally a time of energy and enthusiasm. Factor in less than a month of school and we have horses at the gate.

We decided next time to hold the rally outside and increase the faculty water patrol. If mischief starts, we want to bust more students than balloons.

On a related note: Benician Jim Marx organized another Whitewater Jamboree last weekend on the South Fork of the American River. Over 100 people, many from Benicia, came and camped and rafted. Lots of Benicia teens were there getting as wet as humanly possible. To them, balloons would be small-time.

This weekend Jim and I are joining together to host another rafting adventure for 35 Benicia teen-agers. We will swim, splash, squirt, dunk, tumble, dive, gasp, grope, and gurgle. We don't need no stinkin' water balloons. We will have water cannons.

On a newly related note: Last weekend Jim and I brought our water toys. Water toys take an old familiar river like the South Fork and make it new again. He brought several of the new paddlecats. They're cool, duel pontoons with a center seat for one. The rider navigates with a kayak paddle.

I brought my boogie board. It's a thick foam board a yard tall with plenty of handles. The rider wears a wet suit, fins, knee pads, elbow pads, and a helmet.

Everyone took turns on the paddlecat. My daughter, Kristi, rode it through Triple Threat like a pro. My youngest captain, sophomore Heather Deal, rode the boogie board through every major rapid, including Trouble-Maker.

We're going to buy paddlecats and another boogie board for our club.

Meanwhile, back to school: These kids need more outlets for their energy. They need adventure and movement. The classroom seats are growing smaller every day, and the rooms are shrinking. We do a lot for our Benicia kids, but we could to do more.

This weekend, if at all possible, please, take your own kids and two or three of their friends somewhere, ANYWHERE. See a show, hit the beach, fly a glider plane. Do all three. Wear them out. Then when they come back to school next Tuesday they won't be so restless and longing for summer, like we all are.