Let me set this up for you. I walked down to PJ's on Easton Ave. like a do about once a week for a Fat Cat sandwich for lunch. From there I was walking over to College Ave. I had my camera with me as I do almost every day, never know when you might see a good photo. As I walk behind the Lincoln Elementary School, 66 Bartlett Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, Main Office: 732-745-5300 x5461, Fax: 732-937-7574 the fire alarm sounds for the Fire Prevention Month fire drill. So instead of walking through the students on the sidewalks I figure this could afford some interesting photos. I've already said hello to the police officer involved as he was writing a parking ticket and then I say hello the principal Vincent Giordano. Like someone that would be doing something untold would talk to them. It kind of makes me wonder what these people have as fantasies. Needless to say I walk away with my camera and about 2 minutes later the cop pulls up to ask me some questions and get my ID.

More children are killed by cars in New Jersey every year then have been killed in all the acts of school violence in the whole country. How ever getting hit by and killed by a car when it's only one child at a time doesn't make it on to FOX, CNN, MSNBC for days and weeks, it's so common it's just not worthy of being reported on the news. So while the school ignores the safety of the children walking across the street, notice no one that works for the school has a vest to identify who they are or what their roll is or to make them visually easier to see. If this school district was truly interested in the safety of the children all the teachers would have safety vests on, like those worn by the crossing guards and construction works. The vests would indicate who was a teacher, who was the principal and vice principal, and so on. The teachers and principal would also be trained in the incident command system which is the command structure the fire and police departments would use if there was a real fire in the school. They would then understand the command structure and how they fit into it.

I need to point out here that sidewalks are public property and anyone is allowed to photograph anyone else when they are in pubic view and the photograph is taken from a public place. There is no right to privacy. Yes I’m aware that a couple of mad men have been at work in the USA in the past week and everyone is so concerned about safety of everyone. Is there any wonder we have these problems in this country. We are so afraid of strangers that we never learn to tell the nice people from the bad. This is taught to us by the schools, it's tremendously dangerous to our future well being as a country.

I have to comment that when traveling in Mexico I always take photos of kids at schools like this. It's one of the highlights of the trip when I pull up on my motorcycle and all the kids surround me and shake hands with me. Their smiles are priceless. It's only in the USA where we are always looking for some kind of motive of wrong doing. As in the Rep. Mark Foley and Gov. James McGreevey cases we see that those who make the most public pretense about protecting us are the ones that are doing the most wrong.

I expect to get a call from someone official about this gallery. I'm sure it'll be considered a threat in some way by someone. I can't even begin to imagine the kinds of things someone like that dreams about. BTW all my contact information is contained on my websites so I'm easy to find.

After what happened today (October 5, 2006) I felt I needed to add a few things to my websites. If you are interested in what a Free Lance photographer can and cannot photograph, please click to read the Photographers Bill of Rights, this will require Adobe Acrobat Reader. Images I take in public are my property; I fully intend to protect them, my use of them and my rights as a citizen of the United States of America to take them at all costs. If you don't like that I can freely take photos in public in this country without answering your questions I suggest you move to some other country where it's not allowed.