Today was rediculously hot...98 degrees or something. The Liberty Bank in Portland was reporting 101.

I absolutely hate the heat and humidity, so I did not looki forward to covering the Shorline Track & Field Championships at all!

When I arrived at East Hampton High School, I was greeted by East Hampton Athletic Director Sean Russell. Sean and I go back a few years and he is always extremely helpful.

He was quick to point out that he had red and black water coolers filled with ice water throughout the campus and I should feel free to fill my water bottle as often as I needed to.

That was good to know since I have a habit of dehydrating hard and fast. Unfortunately, it's a side effect to a medication I take to control my high blood pressure. A year ago or two, I was covering the Deep River Muster and found myself in ambulance heading to Shorline Middlesex. Three bags of saline later, I went back to the Press for deadline. Don't let me kid you though, I felt sick, really sick. My blood pressure dropped to 60/30.

I warned my wordsmith side kick, Jake Grossman, our upbeat, rugby playing intern from Keene State about my health issues and he said he keep an eye out for me.

I began the assignment shooting a few  running events and eventually made my way over to the girls shot put. After standing in the hot sun for some time, I felt faint. I decided to check in with the athletic trainer on site. She was awesome! She gave me a bag of ice for my neck, took my pulse and filled my water bottle several times and kept tabs on me while taking care of a few overheated athletes.

About twenty minutes later, Jake came by and was happy to see that I was o.k. We hung around for a bit and then he insisted on carrrying my gear back to the Jeep.

I am grateful to the athletic trainer from Valley Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine and Jake! With a little rest, I should be good as new.

Today, in my quest to find a Kool Kidz, I met Jawon, an articulate fellow at Keigwin Middle School. When I spoke to Principal Tracey Koff back in February she promised me a real Kool Kid and cool I got!

I look forward to interviewing the area's cool kids. It's refreshing and I love what I call "bench time." During the interview, we usually sit on a bench in the school office or foyer.

Today, we had a conference room all to ourselves, well sort of, we had two guests. I got a big kick out of Jawon... he eased back into his chair at the head of the table and for a minute, I could picture Jawon in the Oval Office, meeting with his White House cabinet. In the picture at left, you will notice he is holding a pair of glasses. Don't be fooled folks, Jawon likes to think that these lens free glasses give him a sort of Clark Kent look. I don't think he ever actually put them on. Ahh, to be young again!

I wish I could tell you more about the interview, but you'll have to wait until the Memorial Day edition of the Middletown Press to read about Jawon.