The Haasienda on Shroyer…

Ahhhh…. one more day of teaching.

What a fantastic past four days I’ve experienced!

Two new students this week now has my home studio at full capacity with 66 students… 66 hard working students who made some great strides this week, making me quite proud of their focus, hard work, and consistency!

The saxophone students at the middle schools are so much doggone fun!  Long days (and nights), but it is so worth it, and so much fun!  I have one student who is from Australia.  Last year, he was quiet, shy, and struggled a good deal.  This year, he bursts into the practice room with energy, humor, eagerness, and has become a consistent hard worker!

Now, off to bed… a big morning is in store!  Bill Hetzer and I are meeting for breakfast.  We are taking a big risk, as we were just at First Watch in September.  I think they leave the “wanted posters” up for at least 30 days!

I loved watching HOLLYWOOD SQUARES as a child, and I love it even more as an adult.  I especially loved Paul Lynde, whose witty one liners can still crack me up.

I received this card in the mail, today:

Inside:  HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM THE DOGS, and it was signed – Chief, Harrigan & Bailey.

I have been chuckling since opening the card, as it reminded me of a brief, but very funny moment from a movie whose title I cannot recall.  Two people were being interviewed about something, and a child entered, saying, “_____ [the dog’s name] is digging up bones in the back yard.”  The parents look at one another, horrified, and shouted, “Grandma!”

Thank you, Debbie Allen, for helping my trio to select the best Halloween card!

It’s a mild, windy, and a sunny day in mid October. What makes it even nicer is that it’s Friday!

I am meeting a friend for coffee this morning, then I shall come home and walk the dogs for an hour before grabbing a quick nap.

Several of my Beavercreek high school students are in marching band, and I learned at the beginning of September that it was difficult for them to get home after school and then back in time to get ready for the football game. The school is situated in an area where it’s difficult to walk to and from some of the nearby eating places. I suggested that I pick them up and drive them to get some food, and then back to the high school. However, I ended up joining them for that first meal.

It’s now been over a month, and we’ve continued this Friday afternoon early – dinner. Several more students have joined our little troop. These gatherings have become one of the highlights of my week because they are always filled with so much fun and laughter.

Saturday will be here before I know it. I have a wedding at 5:30 PM in Hamilton, Ohio, and I will slip away to head over to Mason, Ohio to see one of my senior students march with Centerville high school in the Mason Marching Band Invitational. I cannot believe that both of these events are actually 15 miles apart. What luck!

I’m also hoping to grab my camera to scour some of the area where the trees are already changing.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Photos from my yard:

Today is a semi-holiday to honor famed explorer, Christopher Columbus.  However, the very name, Christopher Columbus, seems to raise the ire in some individuals.

The biggest dispute seems to center around whether Columbus actually did discover the Americas.  Yes, there is evidence the Vikings had already arrived before CC and his three ships.  However, one thing I do try to remember is the Italian born sailor ventured across the oceans, when conventional shipping lanes skirted the coastlines, or only crossed major areas if the destination was confident.

No one really knows which Italian, Christopher Columbus or Amerigo Vespucci, both of whom died in Spain, should receive credit.

Does it really matter?

Well, perhaps to historians.  For me, personally, I am just glad something happened to encourage my ancestors to travel to the New World.

There are some claims on Columbus’ reputation that irk me, only because folks tend to forget Columbus’ behaviors/actions were not all that different from other episodes throughout history, especially our country’s own history.

One claim: Columbus took land from people, and murdered them.

Is this anything new?  There are countless ancient accounts of different tribes or nations conquering others.  I do become a bit annoyed when others bring this up as though The United States of America conducted itself nobly with the numerous Native American nations.  Should we celebrate President’s Day since Jackson, and presidents of the later 19th Century continued to delete Native American territory while savagely destroying them?

In his letter to King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella, Columbus wrote:

UR HIGHNESSES, as Catholic Christians and Princes who love the holy Christian faith, and the propagation of it, and who are enemies to the sect of Mahoma [Islam] and to all idolatries and heresies, resolved to send me, Cristóbal Colon, to the said parts of India to see the said princes … with a view that they might be converted to our holy faith …. Thus, after having turned out all the Jews from all your kingdoms and lordships … your Highnesses gave orders to me that with a sufficient fleet I should go to the said parts of India …. I shall forget sleep, and shall work at the business of navigation, so that the service is performed.

I included the excerpt so others could draw their own conclusion.

Another claim:  Columbus enslaved natives.

Was this novel, before or after?  Not really.  Again, many elect to dismiss slavery throughout the centuries, and again, right here on the home front.  We enslaved Africans, Native Americans, and probably other races or cultures not always mentioned in the history books.  During WWII, there were numerous Japanese and German interment camps here in the United States.  There were even camps in my small rural Hoosier birthplace of Elwood, Indiana.  I am sure this is considered an act of war, but it is still enslavement.  And, many of the Japanese were actually US citizens.  Since a number of our nation’s presidents – Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Van Buren, Wm. H. Harrison, Tyler, Taylor, Polk, A. Johnson, and Grant – owned slaves, should we still continue to celebrate President’s Day?  Should The Commonwealth of Virginia be allowed to celebrate state holidays: Lee & Jackson Day, George Washington Day, (Jefferson’s birthday was once on the state calendar)?

Another claim:  Columbus brought new diseases to the New World.

Perhaps.  However, I don’t think Columbus was strictly responsible for this as he was not alone.

Another claim:  Columbus personally raped native women, and even auctioned women for his men’s pleasure.

I’ve always wondered about a particular story in The Bible.  When Sarah could not become pregnant, she gave to her husband, Abraham, her hand-maid, Hagar.  Abraham did bed her, and she bore Ishmael.  Now, we have enslavement, and a possible rape.  It was not uncommon for slave owners  to bed their servants; perhaps were consensual, and others were not.  Again, President Jefferson is thought to have fathered slave children.  Throughout the Civil War (and other wars) there were many accounts of soldiers raping women.  Was that all in the name of Christianity, or war?

Personally, I do not care, one way or another, about the controversy of Columbus’ discoveries, or his personal behaviors.  I do, however, scratch my head when others disregard other similar, well-known facts throughout history that seem to be overshadowed by Christopher Columbus.

After some very minor delays, I finally made it to I 70 x 9 40 5 AM.

The fog has finally lifted along interstate 70 west, and the sun has finally made its debut across the Hoosier fields. It’s very frustrating to be driving when there are so many photographs I could be taking of the beautiful autumn colors that are just getting underway. Though the Midwestern seasons and weather can be a pill, at times, there is always an undeniable beauty about the landscapes.

My iPhone has played a YouTube video, a 2014 documentary on the Watergate scandal. this is one of my favorite benefits enabled by technology. Listening to a movie or documentary is a fine way to pass the time while driving alone.

This most recent documentary has unearthed several new documents, but nothing too surprising. It does appear Pres. Nixon New about the break-in at the Democratic headquarters, located inside the Watergate offices, a bit earlier then the smoking gun tape revealed.

The past several days I’ve watched several documentaries on the Watergate scandal. It is been very interesting to see so many of the participants 40 years later. I still clearly remember watching Pres. Nixon’s White House Council, John Dean, testifying, as well as Jeb MacGruder, and so many of the others.

It is 11 AM, and my initial ETA was 12:30 PM. I am still about 25 miles east of Indianapolis. It appears mother and I will have a slightly later lunch.

It’s nice to see the familiar Hoosier sides with which I’ve been familiar for 50 years.

I am no longer an IKEA version.

A month or so ago, my good friend, Sue Branson, suggested we take a field trip to IKEA since I had never been to one. As part of my birthday week celebration, we met up at IKEA yesterday.

It was like being in a Disney theme park. I detest shopping with great passion, however, I was completely smitten. Everything about my experience seem to possess the Disney touch. It was so doggone impressive, and exceptionally fascinating.

The stores layout, the personnel, the innovative/creative products, and consistent detail to customer care was extraordinary. 24 hours later I am still marveling at the unique napkin holder! It was so cool.

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I am quite satisfied with my purchases. For several years I’ve searched for a large area rug for my study. However the rugs I’ve always liked have been astronomically price. Yesterday, I found the perfect area rug for $139. I purchased a few other odds and ends, and my entire invoice was just under $180.

If you have never been to an IKEA store, I definitely encourage everyone to visit and IKEA at least once in their life!

I’m spending a few quiet moments on the deck with my furry trio as the last few minutes of my 50th birthday wane.

I can’t even begin to describe the fun, joy, and love I’ve experienced the past 48 hours. i’ve enjoyed every minute of it!

During a lesson this evening, a student asked, “What have you enjoyed the most about the past 50 years?”

That was a great question.

My response: there’s been many, many things I’ve enjoyed the past 50 years. However, now that I’ve commenced into my 51st year of life, I’m too excited and eager looking ahead to the next 50 years.

As I approached 30, I noticed many of my friends and colleagues, who were also nearing 30, were obsessed with all the things they felt they should have accomplished by that milestone. I was in a completely different boat, and on an entirely different wavelength. By age 28, I had accomplished everything I had set out to do. The only thing remaining on my list was raising a family. And, at age 36 I began that adventure.

I feel as though I am at another crossroad as I begin the second chapter of 50 years. There are some things I am tossing around, but nothing is concrete, yet. I do not feel hurried to plan, or make any decisions, but I am looking forward to even more exciting times, and adventures.

It’s been a damn good day.

And, it’s been a damn good chapter these past 50 years.

My British friend, Mark Bonington, challenged me on Facebook to select the 10 books which I remember having a lasting impact on me.  It took me most of the day, but I eventually scaled it down to 13 books.

I don’t know when I’ve had a more fun Labor Day, which is the annual Holiday At Home here in Kettering.

By 8:00 AM I was at the corner of Delaine & Rockhill to take photographs of those admirable souls running the 5K.

9:30 AM, Angela Bane and her four year old son, Noah, pulled up in the driveway, and together we walked across the high school’s backfield to watch the parade.  This is the 7th H@H parade I’ve watched with the Bane family.  Normally, my Bane students, Jacob (8th grade), Ellie (now 7th grade), and their dad are a part of this party, but everyone was spread out for the morning events.

This year, my student, Gwen, and her family, were right next to us, and that made for a super parade morning with the Banes and Stampers.

I rushed home, and hurried over to a brunch at David & Paulette Flaum’s beautiful home.  They are the grandparents of my student, Ethan, and his sister, a former student now in college, Savannah.  It was so great to spend time with Emily, the Webbs and all their family.  A delicious brunch, and a wonderful time chatting with the family.  What a super time!

And I am so glad I got to see Savannah, and her boyfriend, Alec who were home from Hocking Hills College.

Now, it is 2:07 PM, and I begin teaching in 8 minutes.  The end of my favorite weekend has arrived, and I could not have asked for a better weekend.  I think my furry trio is pleased I am home for a longer spell!

God love these folks! It’s 5:50 AM, and the Kettering city workers are already on the go in preparation of today’s HOLIDAY AT HOME festivities.

I appreciate the countless hours of the volunteers and city employees who dedicate themselves, making each year’s festival a wonderful event!

It’s Sunday night of Labor Day weekend, 2014. And, it is still not over.

Friday I had a fantastic doctor’s visit with rave reviews. Friday afternoon, I enjoyed the company of two friends who shared in thunderous laughter. Friday night I attended the Beavercreek high school football game against Xenia high school so I could see several of my students marching with the band.

Saturday morning I was up early for a 3.5 mile walk with the dogs, ran into some friends in Lincoln Park, and enjoyed watching our annual Holiday At Home festival being set up in the park. At 2 PM, I joined my friend, Suzanne, for the Fair at New Boston. It was one of the neatest festivals I’ve ever attended! Later that evening, I joined a number of parents/friends and the Beavercreek show choir members – of which quite a few are my students – for a party. I arrived home a little after 1 AM having delivered several students to their homes.

Today, Sunday, has been fun and restful. I began teaching at 3 PM, and finished at 7:45 PM. Before driving my last student home, we stopped for a Mexican dinner, and then took milkshakes home to his family.

Tomorrow will start bright and early. At 7:30 AM, I will begin taking photographs of the festivals 5K race. I have several friends and students in this race. At 9:30 AM, the Bane family will arrive, and we will walk over to Far Hills Avenue where we have enjoyed the parade together for the past seven years. After the parade, I’ve been invited to a brunch at the home of a student’s grandparents. By 2:45 PM, I will be back in my study teaching until 10:30 PM. A long, full day.

Labor Day weekend is one of my all-time favorite’s. This year has been a little extra special.

It’s that time of year when students leave for college for the first time, or leave returning students.

This week, I bid farewell to three 2014 postgrads who are now starting their collegiate journey. Two students I’ve had for 12 and 13 years, and the other for two years. It was quite a bittersweet week.

Tonight, I had dinner with my friend, Suzanne, and her niece, Erin. For the past several years, Erin has been like my own niece, as well. I just love this girl. Tuesday morning, she will be heading to Chicago to begin her studies at the prestigious school for film and cinema.

It does not seem like it has been 31 years since I began my own journey at Ball State University as a freshman. I had been ready to start college since my junior year of high school, and loved every minute of that initial journey.

I do remember the eagerness, and excitement to explore life. 31 years later, I still have that thirst for exploration and knowledge.

I do love the beginning of the school season each fall. There is a newness, and refreshing feeling in the air. However, when it comes to saying goodbye to my seniors leaving for college, I do feel a bit of heartache.

Best wishes, Nick, Kaylee, Jeff, Andrew, Erin, and Matthew. Know you are loved.

When I walked into the guest bedroom tonight, I saw a red dog collar on the floor.

I called Bailey to come over so I could put her collar back on.  Bailey kept backing away while Harrigan kept jumping up on me.  I kept reminding her not to jump.

After the third or fourth reprimand, I realized I was trying to put the red collar on the wrong dog.  Bailey wasn’t coming to me because she knew it was not hers!

Sigh.

Since the kids of been so good and patient with this week’s hectic schedule, they are getting a big treat with a 10 PM walk.  Bedtime for Dad will have to wait.

It’s that time of year again: Beavercreek high school show choir camp.

It’s always exciting for me to be a part of this organization’s annual summer camp. It’s an intense week of learning the coming year’s competition music and choreography. For the past eight or nine years, I have worked with the instrumental ensemble that backs up the show choir. It is always so much fun to work with these gifted and delightful music students.

I also get some time to observe many of my private students who are singers and dancers in the show choir. I am so proud of their hard work, and dedication.

It’s Wednesday night, and I’ve had two very long days in a row. Tomorrow morning I will be back at the school by 9 AM to assist Sharon with vocal rehearsals. After lunch, I will return home to spend time with the dogs, and hopefully take a nap, before heading back over to the high school for supper, rehearsal, and taking some students home.

Friday is the joint rehearsal and then later, the parent show. We are halfway there!

Darin & Carolyn Bendrick, 2012

A dear friend has passed, and although I am sad, I feel so blessed to have shared some wonderful, memorable musical experiences with her.

Carolyn Bendrick and I met Spring 1996 when she joined the music ranks at Normandy Methodist Church, Centerville, Ohio, where I had just joined as director of music.  We immediately hit it off as fellow musicians and great friends.

I was the director of choral director, and director of the musical theatre program, but Carolyn, the church’s pianist and organist, pushed me with piano and organ.  We performed several duets for services, and several times we switched positions for Sunday services: she conducted the choir, and I accompanied on either organ or piano.  She even talked me into alternating for the early summer church services where I played organ.  I so appreciate Carolyn’s faith in me, and her encouragement.

Wednesday afternoons, I taught private voice lessons at the church, and before all the choir and bell rehearsals began, Carolyn and I would steal away to the fellowship hall to share supper together.  We always had the best times chatting away about nearly everything under the sun.  Many times during our three years working together, and even after, Nancy Winslow, Normandy’s secretary joined us for lunches.  It was such a delightful trio, and I sorely miss those gatherings with those two very special ladies.

As conductor of the Centerville Community Band, Carolyn joined us for a Mendelssohn piano concerto which was smashing!  Carolyn did not hesitate in tearing into the difficult concerto, and we certainly had a blast rehearsing and performing.

Normandy, during our tenure together, produced musicals and cantatas, and Carolyn was always my right hand-musician.  I introduced Carolyn to the world of musical theatre, and she strengthened my knowledge of classical piano and organ literature.

The first Sunday of Advent, Carolyn always prepared Bach’s “Sleepers, Awake!”  This beautiful selection she introduced to me, and whenever I listen to it, I always am reminded of Carolyn and our musical friendship.

May choirs of angels sing thee to thy slumber, Dear Friend.  Know you are loved…

I just finished teaching two adoption classes at ACTION Adoption Services.

This is something I have thoroughly enjoyed doing for the past 12 years. It is always so exciting to meet, and work with these prospective adoptive parents who come to class with their eagerness, their slight fear, their energy, and their passion to love children.

Later on, I am always quite moved when one of these families bring their new child/children to the agency for the first time. Quite often, it is difficult to hold back the tears.

When my sons were home, unless they were involved with the marching band at a football game, or another activity, we were most often at the agency on Friday nights. While I was busy teaching, or with other parents in the adoption support group, the boys would play with other kids, or hang out with the other adopted teenagers.  Each of us made wonderful friends, and several close family friends.

ACTION was not, and still is not, a part of our extended family. ACTION is our family.

It’s been a blessing to work with the staff all these years, and with so many wonderful fellow adoptive parents.

With the training and support they provide, and especially, the love that is felt, ACTION is a great way to end the workweek.

Wow! Forty years?

1974 was a big year for me.  My mother was pregnant with my baby brother, Destin, who would be born November 4, sharing this date with the wedding anniversary of President & Mrs. Lincoln.  Yes, that was big to me: a baby brother sharing a Lincoln anniversary date.

I was also preparing to move to the second floor of Washington Elementary School where the 4th thru 6th grade classes were located.  I was looking forward to having Mrs. Diana Lane for 4th grade, and Mrs. Garnetta Brugger for 5th grade.  It turned out these two teachers would not only become two of my favorites, but also integral to so many areas of my career, and adult life.

Two weeks prior to President Nixon’s resignation speech, my grandparents took me to Norfolk, Virginia to visit my Uncle Ron who was in the Navy. It was also my first visit to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Washington’s birthplace, and a return visit to Colonial Williamsburg.

My grandparents and me with Congressman Hillis

We then traveled to Washington, DC where Congressman Hillis (IN-5th Dis) gave us a tour of the US Capitol Building, and we walked over to the Supreme Court where Chief Justice Earl Warren was lying in state. As we returned to the Capitol Building with Congressman Hillis, and his aide, a limousine pulled up, and on the steps of the Senate, I got to meet and chat with Vice-President Ford.

In early August 1974, we were vacationing in Myrtle Beach. I was in the swimming pool when my mother came to the balcony and told me to hurry up to the motel room. She knew I would want to hear this speech because... well, I followed the Watergate Hearings on television after school. The next morning, we held off going to the beach until President & Mrs. Nixon left on the helicopter, and President Ford was sworn in.

For a nine year old history geek, those few weeks in 1974 were incredible!

A quick visit to my hometown, Elwood, IN, and lunch with Mother, and some wonderful friends: Nancy Sumner, Mark Rogers, Pat Rice, and Bill Savage.

I also visited the graves of my birth father, and my mother’s brother, Uncle Ron.

Had a short, but fantastic visit. And I loved hearing so many of Mother and Pat’s stories about their years at the police station. I grew up on my grandfather’s stories from the EPD, and Pat and Mother’s were just as hilarious!

To celebrate the start of my 11 day vacation, day two was filled with a delightful trip to Lexington Kentucky and Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill.

At 7:45 AM, my destination was Lexington Kentucky to visit the girlhood sites of Mary Lincoln.

The 10 AM tour was nice, but not as interesting and energetic as tours I’ve taken in the past.

When the tour finished, I pulled my bike from the van and rode around downtown Lexington for about 12 miles. I visited several Mary Lincoln sites, and rode through the neighborhood of Transylvania University which was founded by her grandfather. The city of Lexington was founded by Mary Lincoln great-grandfather.

Highway 68, the route to Pleasant Hill, is quite a beautiful as it winds alongside the Kentucky River. The winding road contains some of the most ferocious curves I’ve ever driven. Quite often, during this 4 to 6 mile stretch of zigzagging, there is no shoulder on the road and it is a straight drop down. There are a number of places where the road is crumbling, and the guard rails have become quite loose, and some are falling off. I seldom get nervous while driving; however, some of the wretched locals were all too comfortable with their higher rates of speed then the commanded 35 mph.

I do love the Shaker village at Pleasant Hill, but the real draw for me was riding the riverboat for an hour on the Kentucky River. Sadly, for me, the 4 PM trip was already full. I was extremely disappointed, and that did put a tremendous damper on my visit the Pleasant Hill. I did take quite a few pictures, but spent most of the time sitting under a shade tree attending to several emails.

I returned to Lexington, via Highway 68 and it’s dilapidated and curves, and visited Lexington national Cemetery. I spent two hours walking through the beautifully landscaped, historic cemetery, and visited the enormous tomb of Sen. Henry Clay, and paid my respects to the family of Mrs. Lincoln, the Todds.

When I pulled up to the gate at 6 PM, I noticed this large padlock on the large iron gate. What I had not seen was the sign that explained the cemetery closed at 5 PM. For me, that additional hour was like riding the rides at Kings Island an hour after the park is closed. I called the security guard, Steve, and within five minutes but kindly gentleman was unlocking the padlock.

I began to wonder – had I stayed all night, the cemetery become something like the movie, A NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM, and all the historical figures came back to life until sunrise.

As I neared Cincinnati, the sun was beginning to descend behind the rolling hills of southwestern Ohio. The diminishing rays were still brilliant enough to spread beautiful sparkling streaks on the Ohio River, and create beautiful silhouettes with the buildings and bridges.

It is approaching 9 PM, and I am back on the road heading north toward Dayton. It’s been quite an enjoyable day, and I am ready for the next adventure on this vacation.

I am nearing the Ohio – Indiana state lines.

Thus far, it is been an easy and enjoyable drive. A beautiful sunlit sky, a little hazy, makes for a pleasant view. Most of the interstate is walled with tall, healthy cornstalks, or slightly rolling fields of soybeans. This is my favorite time of the year to drive through the countryside.

Afternoon, I will meet my mother, and two family friends, Nancy Sumner and Mark Rogers, for lunch. Nancy is retiring and moving to Chicago.

I have not been to my hometown in nearly 2 years. There’s always a degree of sentiment for the community in which I grew up, and for the people with whom I was raised.

The end of a wonderful four-day weekend is upon me.

I generally cram in quite a few things each day but this weekend seem to be a little more than usual. Well Kings Island was an absolute blast this past Friday. Despite the rain that clouded the last few hours of the day, it was still a fantastic time.

Today I completed about three hours of yardwork. Tonight, I will tidy up around the house for the teaching week starts tomorrow.

When I finish up Wednesday night, I will begin my summer vacation for the next 11 days.

I am ready for it.

What a beautiful July 6th Sunday evening.

The neighborhood is packed with hundreds of automobiles for the EARTH WIND AND FIRE performance over in Lincoln Park.

A steady cool, and humidless breeze – probably considered even a wind – blows across the deck, causing the windchimes to dance and singing.

The dogs, like myself, seem reluctant to let this weekend depart. I am enjoying the evening, sitting in my deck chair, away from my computer, and enjoying watching the dogs play in the backyard.

These past four days have been packed with a tremendous amount of activity: visits with dear friends from far and near, parades, fireworks, yard work, over 15 miles of walking with the dogs, and loving the beautiful weather.

It’s a good life. There’s no doubt about it.

Upcoming Events News Shop Give Live stream July 4th at Monticello CELEBRATE JULY 4th AT MONTICELLO! Ceremony begins at 9am, Jeffersonian Open House to follow until noon Join us this Friday from 9 am to noon for one of America’s most moving July 4 events and the largest naturalization ceremony held outside of a courtroom – Monticello’s Independence Day Celebration and Naturalization Ceremony. There is no more inspirational place to celebrate the Fourth of July than Monticello, the home of the author of the Declaration of Independence! Enjoy moving remarks by David M. Rubenstein, co-Founder and co-CEO of The Carlyle Group, and Christopher Job, of the Metropolitan Opera and Ash Lawn Opera, will sing the National Anthem and America the Beautiful. And in homage to Mr. Jefferson, who opened the President’s House to the public on July 4th, we’ll host a Jeffersonian Open House after the ceremony until noon including free walk-through tours, live entertainment, an ice cream festival and fun children’s activities! *PS: Parking for this year’s ceremony is available at Piedmont Virginia Community College with shuttle service to Monticello! We encourage you to be on a shuttle by 8:30 am to get to the ceremony on time; return shuttles from Monticello to PVCC will be available continuously until 3:00 pm. See you Friday for our July 4th Celebration! July 4th at Monticello! >>