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Friday, October 04, 2002
guidelines for those dressing as large red canines
The organization I work for hosts literacy events for kids. For one event, we rented a Clifford the Big Red Dog suit. Here's some of the instructions that came with the suit:
-
For the best appearance, costume wearers should have some natural bulk; a skinny costume wearer is a skinny Clifford.
- Someone MUST accompany costume wearers at all times to help guide wearer from place to place and manage interactions with the public.
- Clifford does NOT speak.
- Clifford should NEVER take his costume head off in public.
- Clifford is: friendly, loyal, curious, protective, irresistible, lovable, heroic, eager, fun-loving, big-hearted and enthusiastic. He's innocent, adorable, and very focused on others - it's not about him, it's about his family and friends.
- He should NOT do anything objectionable like lift his leg or push a child. Always assume a young child is nearby watching.
- He can wave, point in the direction he wants people to go, hug people, pat the tops of their heads, hold hands, shake hands, rub his tummy and put is arm on people's shoulders.
- The key is that Clifford is really a little kid at heart so he would NEVER think of doing anything that a bigger kid would do.
My boss, of course, immediately defied many of those regulations and pranced around the office wearing just the head and scaring people. Then he went down the hall to the next office suite and scared them, too.
18:23
Wednesday, October 02, 2002
everybody gets a bed
I just got a bed. It's the first time since June that I've slept on a real mattress and boxspring instead of an air mattress. I cannot tell you how blissful it feels to sleep on its firm yet cushiony surface, far away from the floor below. (The Jello-O effect of the air mattress gets old real fast.) And to make matters even happier, it's a full-size bed. I've been sleeping on a twin for the past four years. I am in sleep heaven. I went to Linens N' Things to buy sheets for it, and I felt like such the proud bed-owner. It's analagous to car owners who get all squishy inside when they buy a new steering wheel cover for their sweet ride.
Oddly enough, the bed was given to me second-hand by Ellen's mom, who also lives in D.C. And Ellen herself just wrote a poetic musing on getting a real bed, because she got fed up with her futon and bought one this week.
12:38
Monday, September 30, 2002
much to learn
Things in D.C. are going surprisingly well. I'm working at an organization with a small team of people, which is a nice change of pace compared to past summer internships at big companies. I'm also learning a lot about the way the world works. Just very basic things about poverty, race, class... all those things that sociology classes address, but sometimes those lectures don't sink in as well as talking to real people and working on real problems. I still have so, so much to learn, but at least I know that now. I guess that's something. (Pigeons are flying by my window right now...) It's amazing to me that at some public elementary schools, 80% of the kids live below the poverty line. And living without the basics of a stable life makes learning difficult... School's hard enough without that added stress. It's also amazing how much parents want to help their children to succeed. I don't know why I'm amazed. I guess I always thought that the parents must not really want their kids to do well... otherwise they'd make school more of a priority. But parents are signing up by the dozen for our Community Nights at different elementary schools, which feature (here comes the memorized spiel): A family dinner from 6-6:30, then children are paired with volunteer mentors who read with them and do arts and crafts while their parents go into workshops to learn how to make reading more fun at home. At the end of the night, everyone takes home a free book. Honestly, I don't think my own parents would've signed up for this event. It's two extra hours out of a busy day. But parents at these schools are excited to sign up. They expect it to cost something (it's free). And the fact that they get to take home a free book makes kids' eyes light up. I think that's pretty cool.
18:25
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