If I live to be 150 years old I won’t get over the fact that schools around here now begin the new school year the first week of August. And on a Friday. When I was in school… But that’s ancient history, and now is now.

Grandson Ben is now in 7th grade, the middle grade of middle school. He began school on Friday after spending a summer of fun and volunteer service as part of a group that not only did volunteer work locally but also made two out-of-state trips to perform volunteer service.

Every summer, the group travels to the small town of Bayou Le Batre, Alabama, a fishing village that is located on the Gulf of Mexico and is known for its seafood processing and shipbuilding industries. There they engage in a number of community service and outreach projects to this…