Kids Part II

The kids are alright. They are a smart batch of cookies, lots of questions and ideas on how things should be done. Many of them have been in summer theatre programs before, and they demand a higher level of conversation and game than I was able to offer today, tired and lunchless as I was from my early shift at the radio station. There's a hyperactive little urchin I will call "Tomato", who requires near-constant attention, and several future DDF champions with long, straight pigtails who really want dance numbers and improv exercises, and a bunch of soccerball bouncing boys with squeaky voices who aren't too cool just yet to be a whole lot of fun. A pair of twins I used to nanny for when I was nineteen are in the program-- they are the greatest, one of them tall and calm, a natural leader and caretaker of the younger kids, the other hanging back a bit but quick with a wiseass quip.

Tomato is going to be my big challenge, bigger than managing the stage-- quite enormously huge. He speaks in robot voices and animal grunts, sings a chipmunk-y version of "Hanky the Christmas Poo" during quiet moments, and likes to drop pen caps and little rocks down the back of my jeans when we're doing read-throughs. Sara loved him during her morning shift, relating, as we both do, to his nerdy kingdom of self-alienation; by my afternoon shift (and possibly after something sugary on lunch break)he was as spun as spun could be, wriggling, jumping, leaping, squawking, crying, laughing, pawing...

In other wildlife news, my animal tally is looking up: on top of the three bears Sara and I saw her first week in town and the sea otter that's living under the building next door, dad and I saw a yearling moose 100 yards away on the golf course yesterday. He was big and gawky, all knees and throat; he froze when he spotted us, then sauntered over to the river, where he splashed out to a sand flat and ran down the center kicking up silver spray, looking for all the world like he was walking on water.

I'm composing a special belated 4th of July post with lots of pictures-- I'll put it up next week when dad goes back to work, the school being my only sure means of doing so. Sara's peach of a boyfriend Spike was in town, and we took in as much of the festivities as we possibly could. I hate to admit that we were all too emotionally and physically exhausted from the glory and the pageantry to take in the pie eating contest, but I do have very special pictures of the parade, and of some wee horsies with new wave bangs that have rainbows for eyelashes and hearts made of candy. You'll see.