Power In e Pines Air Show Takes Flight Again A er 5 Years

By Andrey Nalbantov LAKEHURST

– It took more than 20 minutes to go the last mile to get into Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (MDL) Sunday morning - watching the same traffic light turn red three times in a row – because of how many carloads of people were going to see the Power in the Pines show. After waiting five years, waiting even longer due to traffic built up the anticipation.

Saturday’s weather was rainy, which made even more people pile into the event on Sunday. Even though the base opened its gates for the event at 9 a.m., the enthusiastic visitors were already pre- paring to swarm each one of the three entrances in order to get inside quicker.

Hundreds upon hundreds were gathered and impatiently waiting for the already massive lines in front of the security check-up to clear so they could fi nally go in, and again enjoy an event that they have been missing for the past five years to return.

Finally, after five years and close to an hour in line, the Power in the Pines event was back. The reasons for the long hiatus were the COVID-19 pandemic, and two very important operations that the MDL base was in use for: “Allies Refuge” and

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Patrol as a lifeguard. She was thrilled to return to the same position in 2021 and has been back every summer since.

Misurelli encountered a major twist of fate on July 5, 2021, one of the busiest beach days of the season. As a result of a hurricane swell, rip tides emerged, causing a number of swimmers to be pulled towards the buoys and away from the watchful eye of the lifeguards.

Fearlessly charging into the water with a rescue board, Misurelli brought in two sets of swimmers to the shallow end as she headed out for a bigger group.

With her focus intent on ensuring the safety of others, Misurelli didn’t realize she was bleeding profusely. A razor-sharp strap on the fiberglass board had ruthlessly severed a portion of the top of her right hand.

Misurelli still finds some of the events that followed to be a bit uncanny. Although her sister Melissa was a lifeguard in Ship Bottom, she just happened to be in Harvey Cedars when the accident happened. Somehow, her parents made it from Manahawkin to LBI in just seven minutes.

“A plastic surgeon who lives on the beach I was guarding that day called my mom,” shared Misurelli. “He said he heard what happened and wanted to help.”

According to Misurelli, Dr. Frank

Cimminello made arrangements for her to meet with one of his partners, a hand surgeon. Two operations later and lots of physical therapy have resulted in a return to complete mobility.

From the beginning, Misurelli made it clear she had no intentions of being a victim. She returned to the swim team as soon as she had the go-ahead. The injury required the determined young woman to initially use her fist as she did the freestyle stroke. Misurelli also wasn’t allowed to dive into the water because of the pressure. Other swimmers were four body lengths ahead of Misurelli when the races first started.

“That season I was undefeated all year,” shared Misurelli. “And I couldn’t even dive in.”

As if excelling at one sport wasn’t enough, Misurelli decided to take up tennis and made the varsity team. Amazingly, she’d only played before with her family as a pastime during COVID.

Meanwhile, Misurelli devised a way to make sure she turned in her academic papers on time. The challenge was figuring out how to type them with a 20 pound cast on her dominant hand that went all the way up to her shoulder.

“I would type with my left hand, and voice audio everything,” Misurelli said. “It all took an unbelievably long time, but I was determined to get it done.”

Despite facing a major challenge that could have changed the course of her life, Megan refused to let the incident define her. Instead, she drew upon its power to propel herself towards a future full of promise and possibility.

The young woman not only received her Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry and biotechnology, but she also authored and presented several research papers and was selected by the president of Albright College to give a keynote address at graduation.

Misurelli spoke of the challenges she encountered as a result of the accident. The young woman also told a story that summed up the reasons she equated wishes and flying as a metaphor for her life’s journey in the present time.

“I slowly retaught myself things I believed were innate behaviors,” shared Misurelli. “In short, I had to learn how to fly again. So, I started over. Trauma, I’ve learned, makes you intensely aware of the present moment in slow time and allowed me to appreciate everything.”

As she continued speaking at the commencement, she said that a wise man once told her that in this life, each of us are born twice.

“The first birth is the day you were born,” Misurelli continued. “The second birth is the day you find your purpose.”

The next time she flies again will be in August as she heads to Saint James School of Medicine in Anguilla. The journey comes with a clear purpose in mind - to fulfill a strong woman’s calling as a doctor in a third world country, where she can provide essential assistance to underserved communities in need.

Students

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Michaelis is the author of “My Life After Hate” and came to provide some insight into his personal history. The speaker’s past included founding an international white supremacy group, acting as a reverend of a racial holy war, and performing as the lead singer in a hate metal band.

From Wisconsin, Michaelis now speaks to groups as an activist for love and compassion. In a thought-provoking speech, he challenged students to reflect on their role as upstanders or bystanders in society. He said he valued the power of storytelling: the narratives people believe in and share will shape their lives and interactions with the world around them.

Michaelis drew from his own past and shared some of the mistakes he made. He admitted that during his youth, he was not an upstander nor a bystander but rather someone who actively caused problems for himself and others.

However, the former skinhead said he has since dedicated his life to working in the field to counter violent extremism. In doing so, Michaelis said he’d learned a great deal about the often tragic backgrounds that contribute to their radicalization.

Many have experienced childhoods marked by suffering, abuse, and hatred, with some even enduring sexual trauma.

He emphasized how such trauma can break a person, leading them to perceive hate as an escape from their pain. He likened the allure of hate to that of a dangerous drug capable of trapping a person in addiction and misery.

Michaelis said his personal story somewhat deviated from the typical narrative associated with former extremists. Despite growing up in a seemingly idyllic household, he revealed that his father’s alcoholism was a significant source of his own suffering. While his father was not a mean drunk, his excessive drinking and prioritization of leisure activities over work put the burden of providing for the family on Michaelis’s mother, who worked tirelessly to make ends meet.

“I grew up watching my mother suffer,” said Michaelis. “I could see how badly she was hurting, and it hurt me.”

However, Michaelis admitted that he distanced himself rather than offering help to his mom. By the time he was in kindergarten, he was already a bully. Michaelis said as he grew a bit older, he got a big kick out of parents and teachers being afraid of him.

By age 14, Michaelis was already drinking alcohol, which intensified his antisocial tendencies, fueling his desire to shock and repulse others. Michaelis admitted to adopting white nationalist ideologies through exposure to white power music, which glorified a distorted worldview centered on hatred towards marginalized communities.

The room of approximately 400 students was hushed as Michaelis recounted the allure of using symbols like the swastika to provoke and repulse people.

A society driven by hate and violence inevitably produces evil and violence in return, he said. He highlighted the tragic consequences that befell his friends as a result of their involvement in hate-fueled actions. Michaelis’ closest friend ended up in prison for a shooting incident, while another lost his life in a street fight, both victims of the hate and violence they had embraced.

Michaelis emphasized that casting blame on others not only hindered problem-solving, but also exacerbated issues and increased a continuing cycle of blame. Ultimately, the speaker learned something from co-workers who treated him well despite his actions to them.

“What was most exhausting was when people I claimed to hate treated me with kindness,” said Michaelis. “And that’s really what drove home how wrong I was to be a violent racist.”

During the seven year period he was involved in white supremacy groups, Michaelis said all the hate he professed, mixed with violence and alcohol, caused him to break up with his girlfriend. Michaelis was suddenly a single dad to an 18-month-old baby and decided it was time to stop. By then it was 1994; Michaelis said he left hate groups and went from being a white power skinhead to a raver in Chicago. His new friends noticed his swastikas tattoos but were into the party scene and accepted him as he was. He has since covered up the tattoos.

At this point in his life, Michaelis told the students he’s just trying to undo the harm that he’s done. He encouraged them to practice kindness, gratitude and forgiveness.

“It will make you happy,” said Michaelis. “It will also lead people around you to be happy, and it will make you an upstander in the world.”

He was introduced by Dr. Henry Jackson, OCC’s Executive Director of Academic Success.

“Here at OCC, we’re going to make this a tradition to try and get our students to be upstanders,” he said. “And not bystanders.”

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer told the students he hoped the conference would give them a transformative experience shaping their high school years and motivating them to celebrate diversity and treat others with respect.

Billhimer explained his role as the chief law enforcement officer in the county, saying that his office prosecutes between 5,000 and 6,000 cases each year. The prosecutor’s office also investigates criminal cases in conjunction with local police departments.

“We have members of our office that are on pace to speak to over 100 schools this year,” shared Billhimer . “The goal of all that outreach we do is so we don’t see you as a defendant.”