Field Day Friday the 13th

Today is Field Day.

It is also Friday the 13th.

Are we sure this is a good idea?

Every year our school has a field day.

When I was in school, field day consisted of such activities as the 100-yard dash, book balance, and softball throw.

The school I’m at which I teach has done things like three-legged races, egg toss, and other team competitions. There’s a cookout, too.

Many students attempt to skip field day.

This year, there are such things planned that if I were back in school I’d want to come to field day. However, those things are secret for a few more hours.

However, what if field day were drastically different? What if, instead of games of skill, luck, and teamwork, we gathered everyone in the auditorium, dimmed the lights, and started a slideshow?

Welcome to Field Day.

Today, we will be taking a virtual tour of the many types of fields in the world.

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This is a cornfield. In addition to being the subject of a famous oil-on-canvas painting by the English artist John Constable, cornfields are . . .

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This is a wheat field. No, we’re not talking about the town in New York State, we’re talking about the cereal grain . . .

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Familiar to many of you, this is a tobacco field. Did you know that Reader’s Digest published an article titled “Children of the Tobacco Fields”? . . .

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No, this isn’t snow, nor is this a marshmallow plant. This is a cotton field. Textiles were once a major industry in our state, and . . .

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You wouldn’t recognize it to look at it, but this humble plant is the filler in many fast-food burgers. Yes, this is a soybean field. . .

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Also called a paddy, the rice field . . .

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Some of you may have heard that love is a battlefield. You have been misinformed; this is a battlefield, or it was about a hundred fifty years ago . . ..

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On a related note, this is a minefield. Some of you may recall a woman named Princess Diana . . .

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Even more gruesome, this is a mass grave, part of the Killing Fields of Cambodia. Once there was a man named Pol Pot, . . .

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Now let’s take a look at some fields of study. How many of you see something on this chart . . .

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Perhaps best known for actor Kevin Costner hearing a voice declaring “If you build it, they will come,” Field of Dreams was a movie . . .

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Known for her roles in Gidget, Smokey and the Bandit, and Mrs. Doubtfire, American actress Sally Field . . .

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Finally, let’s discuss that purveyor of mall cookies, Mrs. Fields . . .

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So, which field day would you prefer?

Let me know in the comments!