Somosamerica sent in this comment for an earlier post, but so people can see it I'll repost it here as an entry:
Maritza et al...
In Chicago, I'd like to make sure parents know that to get into Inter-American's school's dual language program, you need to apply for preschool (4yo), not kindergarten. By the time kindergarten rolls around, all our preschool slots are filled -- no one leaves and there's no room.
In reality there should be more programs like this. There is a dual language strand at Talcott and heritage language programs at Tepochcalli and Whittier that I know of.
Good luck! ,
Monday, August 31, 2009
Welcome Baby Party
Well, I managed to have the official "come see the baby" soiree with at least some of the neighbors yesterday. All the kids have been bugging me about seeing him. Two of my friends were coming down from the north side for a visit, so I thought it would be a good time to open the floodgates and let the baby be officially seen while I had two extra pairs of hands around to help out.
Abuelita (Granny, here from Mexico, who deserves a note of her own at some point) and I went out for a walk yesterday afternoon with BJ (for Baby Jaime, not baby's real name) to show her where El Guero (nearest Mexican grocery store) is and go to the bakery for some pan dulce to go with the fruit I had from a lovely edible arrangement. Yesterday was the St. Joseph Summer Festival, so we stopped by on our way to 47th Street. Abuelita got to chit-chat with some real Spanish speakers--whew! I introduced her to a bunch of friends from the neighborhood who were around and they all chatted while Tony and I sat in the sun and watched the ballet folklorico. Abuelita knew the songs and sang along a little bit. My friend Lety took her under her wing and they went to get some food--she had sopes and a quesadilla. (I bet she was glad to have good Mexican food she didn't have to cook.)
I also got to ask Lety, "What is it with all the Mexicans worrying that he's cold all the time?" Abuelita has him bundled in three layers almost all the time. It is an unseasonably cold August, but it's still August. And he has jaundice and needs some skin in indirect sunlight sometimes. Lety was a good person to talk with--she was reminding me most Mexicans would say I shouldn't have even been out of the house (40 days confinement, and there's good reason for it, but I would go crazy inside that long), and that yes, the way they protect babies is to keep them very warm. We are managing some balance, Abuelita and I, but it is interesting. Lety was telling me her mother-in-law was very protective when her kids were infants, too. "Just remember it won't last forever," she said.
"True. And she is really a godsend," I said. "So many women don't have that kind of support--someone who is always there and has experience with their own children."
Then we took a look around the grocery store and went to the bakery. I forgot I had spend a wad of cash at Whole Foods and had to dig hard in my pocketbook to come up with the cash for almost 10 bucks worth of baked goods. We got it.
When we got back to the house Junior's mom was out front with Junior and his little brothers. The youngest is about 18 months older than BJ--I'm hoping they'll be friends when BJ is a little older. Apparently they already have a lot in common--similar birth weight, both had jaundice. Junior's mom and I were comparing notes. She's working nights I think; she looks really tired. Her older boys offered to come by and help out. They will get their chance, I bet. For now, I encouraged Junior's mom to stop by and talk with Abuelita any time since we have trouble conversing. Abuelita has made friends with Dawn's mom next door, which is good, but I'm hoping to help her find some more women she can have a good platica (chat) with now and then. (I'm not feeling so chatty in Spanish these days--the extra step to figure out what to say/what's being said is slowing me down big time.)
A little while later Liz and Lisa showed up and we got the pan dulce and the fruit out. Then a young friend of mine, F, who just graduated in June from Big Picture came by. She had a baby two weeks before I did. He's a boy with an amazing head of black hair. She had a tough labor followed by a C-section. She is up and about and getting ready to start a new class at Morton College with a three-week old. I have a ton of respect and admiration for her. I had invited her over to pick up extra baby clothes and gear--I got a ton of hand-me-downs and have been trying to share the wealth with neighbors and friends who have new babies but don't have as many friends with gear/clothes to spare and share. Sarah's niece, the boy down the street and now this Big Picture grad's little boy have all benefitted from the largesse. We had a teary new mom moment upstairs while F was looking through my stuff. She has been trying to breastfeed but it's been really tough between the C and sore, cracked nipples. Right now she is pumping and supplementing with formula. By contrast, I've had a really easy time getting the hang of it (the first week was hard but now he latches well and my nipples don't hurt and he's gaining). I felt almost guilty when F looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "It's hard, right?"
"Yes, honey, it's really hard getting started," I said. "And it stays hard for some people for a long time." I gave her a spare nursing pillow plus a ton of extra bottles and nipples. And a bagful of clothes we hadn't even sorted out yet.
Then the deluge. I'd say we had a dozen or so kids show up, and when the word got out there was food, kids I didn't even know (people's cousins) came in--I just sent them to the back to get food or pop. A couple of moms from down the street swooped in and had to hold the baby. I knew that was coming. Tony was quite mellow about it. I figure one of these moms has six kids and the other has at least two or three, so let them at it. My friend Christina told me the mom I don't know as well (with fewer kids) joked in Spanish, "I'm going to take him now. You can have him back when he's five."
"You know what--that might be OK," I joked back in English to Christina. (I'm not sure if she passed it on. I like school-age kids; I could save a lot of diaper changing and toilet training, right? So kidding.)
The kids I knew who wanted to hold the baby all washed their hands and lined up. Most of them have handled very young brothers/sisters/nieces/nephews, so I wasn't too worried. One youngest had to be shown how to support his head; the rest of them probably know more about the whole business than I do. One girl who I know by sight but keep losing her name helps her aunt out with her cousin, who is now seven months old. She clearly knows how it is for new moms. She came up right away and put an arm around me, and was clearly very interested in and competent with BJ. I still think Ines is my first choice on mother's helper, but they are buddies so maybe as time goes on they can help me out together.
The party gave me a chance to get a couple of key messages out to the kids--we won't be so visible/available for a few weeks, and we'll put a sign on the door to let you know when visits are OK and when not. I want to get someone to take pieces of red and green construction paper over to Kinko's and get them laminated together so I have an all-weather sign. Red=no visitors; green=welcome. Simple enough.
One of my friends brought a camera and took pics. Both helped me throw everybody out when I got tired. I may post some photos when I get them. Really glad that's over with, at least for now. (Some neighbors who want to see the baby couldn't make it.) One person I'd like to stall is Mrs. Ribs across the street, whose daughter told me she apparently insists on feeding babies potatoes the first time she meets them. Can I hold her off for six months??? :-) We shall see.
Abuelita (Granny, here from Mexico, who deserves a note of her own at some point) and I went out for a walk yesterday afternoon with BJ (for Baby Jaime, not baby's real name) to show her where El Guero (nearest Mexican grocery store) is and go to the bakery for some pan dulce to go with the fruit I had from a lovely edible arrangement. Yesterday was the St. Joseph Summer Festival, so we stopped by on our way to 47th Street. Abuelita got to chit-chat with some real Spanish speakers--whew! I introduced her to a bunch of friends from the neighborhood who were around and they all chatted while Tony and I sat in the sun and watched the ballet folklorico. Abuelita knew the songs and sang along a little bit. My friend Lety took her under her wing and they went to get some food--she had sopes and a quesadilla. (I bet she was glad to have good Mexican food she didn't have to cook.)
I also got to ask Lety, "What is it with all the Mexicans worrying that he's cold all the time?" Abuelita has him bundled in three layers almost all the time. It is an unseasonably cold August, but it's still August. And he has jaundice and needs some skin in indirect sunlight sometimes. Lety was a good person to talk with--she was reminding me most Mexicans would say I shouldn't have even been out of the house (40 days confinement, and there's good reason for it, but I would go crazy inside that long), and that yes, the way they protect babies is to keep them very warm. We are managing some balance, Abuelita and I, but it is interesting. Lety was telling me her mother-in-law was very protective when her kids were infants, too. "Just remember it won't last forever," she said.
"True. And she is really a godsend," I said. "So many women don't have that kind of support--someone who is always there and has experience with their own children."
Then we took a look around the grocery store and went to the bakery. I forgot I had spend a wad of cash at Whole Foods and had to dig hard in my pocketbook to come up with the cash for almost 10 bucks worth of baked goods. We got it.
When we got back to the house Junior's mom was out front with Junior and his little brothers. The youngest is about 18 months older than BJ--I'm hoping they'll be friends when BJ is a little older. Apparently they already have a lot in common--similar birth weight, both had jaundice. Junior's mom and I were comparing notes. She's working nights I think; she looks really tired. Her older boys offered to come by and help out. They will get their chance, I bet. For now, I encouraged Junior's mom to stop by and talk with Abuelita any time since we have trouble conversing. Abuelita has made friends with Dawn's mom next door, which is good, but I'm hoping to help her find some more women she can have a good platica (chat) with now and then. (I'm not feeling so chatty in Spanish these days--the extra step to figure out what to say/what's being said is slowing me down big time.)
A little while later Liz and Lisa showed up and we got the pan dulce and the fruit out. Then a young friend of mine, F, who just graduated in June from Big Picture came by. She had a baby two weeks before I did. He's a boy with an amazing head of black hair. She had a tough labor followed by a C-section. She is up and about and getting ready to start a new class at Morton College with a three-week old. I have a ton of respect and admiration for her. I had invited her over to pick up extra baby clothes and gear--I got a ton of hand-me-downs and have been trying to share the wealth with neighbors and friends who have new babies but don't have as many friends with gear/clothes to spare and share. Sarah's niece, the boy down the street and now this Big Picture grad's little boy have all benefitted from the largesse. We had a teary new mom moment upstairs while F was looking through my stuff. She has been trying to breastfeed but it's been really tough between the C and sore, cracked nipples. Right now she is pumping and supplementing with formula. By contrast, I've had a really easy time getting the hang of it (the first week was hard but now he latches well and my nipples don't hurt and he's gaining). I felt almost guilty when F looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "It's hard, right?"
"Yes, honey, it's really hard getting started," I said. "And it stays hard for some people for a long time." I gave her a spare nursing pillow plus a ton of extra bottles and nipples. And a bagful of clothes we hadn't even sorted out yet.
Then the deluge. I'd say we had a dozen or so kids show up, and when the word got out there was food, kids I didn't even know (people's cousins) came in--I just sent them to the back to get food or pop. A couple of moms from down the street swooped in and had to hold the baby. I knew that was coming. Tony was quite mellow about it. I figure one of these moms has six kids and the other has at least two or three, so let them at it. My friend Christina told me the mom I don't know as well (with fewer kids) joked in Spanish, "I'm going to take him now. You can have him back when he's five."
"You know what--that might be OK," I joked back in English to Christina. (I'm not sure if she passed it on. I like school-age kids; I could save a lot of diaper changing and toilet training, right? So kidding.)
The kids I knew who wanted to hold the baby all washed their hands and lined up. Most of them have handled very young brothers/sisters/nieces/nephews, so I wasn't too worried. One youngest had to be shown how to support his head; the rest of them probably know more about the whole business than I do. One girl who I know by sight but keep losing her name helps her aunt out with her cousin, who is now seven months old. She clearly knows how it is for new moms. She came up right away and put an arm around me, and was clearly very interested in and competent with BJ. I still think Ines is my first choice on mother's helper, but they are buddies so maybe as time goes on they can help me out together.
The party gave me a chance to get a couple of key messages out to the kids--we won't be so visible/available for a few weeks, and we'll put a sign on the door to let you know when visits are OK and when not. I want to get someone to take pieces of red and green construction paper over to Kinko's and get them laminated together so I have an all-weather sign. Red=no visitors; green=welcome. Simple enough.
One of my friends brought a camera and took pics. Both helped me throw everybody out when I got tired. I may post some photos when I get them. Really glad that's over with, at least for now. (Some neighbors who want to see the baby couldn't make it.) One person I'd like to stall is Mrs. Ribs across the street, whose daughter told me she apparently insists on feeding babies potatoes the first time she meets them. Can I hold her off for six months??? :-) We shall see.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Maritza Takes Maternity Leave
My son was born last Friday night. He's now seven pounds and healthy, but still a little jaundiced. Obviously I'll be taking a break from chronicling the neighborhood goings-on for a while. Lots of neighbors have wanted to see the baby--a few squeezed in, but until the jaundice clears we're not having visitors.
More in a few weeks, most likely.
More in a few weeks, most likely.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Unofficial Block Party Celebrates Street Resurfacing
I got home tonight about 9 p.m. and the new asphalt was on the street. Whoo-hoo! A couple dozen kids were celebrating with bikes, trikes, wagons and mini-cars. Fernando's mom and Peter Pan's mom were out in the middle of the street with the kids. The Brady dads were sitting on their front stoop keeping an eye on their joint brood. The south end of the street is still blocked off with cones because they're going to paint the crosswalk tomorrow morning, I think. So tonight there's nothing but empty, newly asphalted street.
"It's another block party," I said to some of the parents. They nodded.
Mrs. Traback was out with her new dog viewing the action, too. I think she might have been talking with the kids and their moms before I arrived. Please keep her in your thoughts/good energy/prayers--she's been having some health issues lately.
"It's another block party," I said to some of the parents. They nodded.
Mrs. Traback was out with her new dog viewing the action, too. I think she might have been talking with the kids and their moms before I arrived. Please keep her in your thoughts/good energy/prayers--she's been having some health issues lately.
And Now for Something Completely Different
Overheard on the Orange Line earlier tonight: a young woman was on the phone with her mother explaining that she and a disabled friend who has a service dog had tried to get a meal at Golden Thai on Taylor, but the restaurant refused to serve the friend because she had the service dog with her. Her friend is looking into what she can do but in the mean time I won't be eating at Golden Thai for a good while and wanted to let others know.
Golden Thai is at 1509 W. Taylor.
Golden Thai is at 1509 W. Taylor.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Streetlights Are Back On!
The streetlights on Ashland Avenue between 47th and 49th streets are back on again. Yay!
Thanks to Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council for staying on the city to get the work done.
Thanks to Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council for staying on the city to get the work done.
Block Party 2009
Well, this year's block party went off pretty well. The weather was cool and it sprinkled a bit, but it didn't prevent us from doing any of the activities. The mask-making was definitely the best part. I couldn't watch it too carefully--we were setting up the food then, which was a bit of a production, but the kids could paint and use a variety of interesting materials. They made 3D objects as well as masks. My favorite was Brady Bughunter's boat--he made something with a long (maybe four feet?) broomstick in the middle. You probably could tie a sail on it and float it somewhere.
Hopefully I will have pictures soon and post them. I know the kids had more fun last year because it was hotter and we had the jumping jack and water balloons, but I was just happy it went off calmly and everyone had a good time. "It was lovely," Jay-Z's dad told me afterwards.
Hopefully I will have pictures soon and post them. I know the kids had more fun last year because it was hotter and we had the jumping jack and water balloons, but I was just happy it went off calmly and everyone had a good time. "It was lovely," Jay-Z's dad told me afterwards.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Bradys at the Beach, Plus Block Party Update
Well, the good news is they did not start resurfacing the street this morning, and the signs are down. We need to put up block party signs but there's a good chance of rain tonight, so I think we'll do that tomorrow.
Today I took the afternoon off and drove a chunk of the Brady kids up to the north side for some time at the beach. Originally I had planned to take girls only--it's a five-seater car and there are four of them who play together a lot--but at the last minute we squeezed Brady Bughunter in, too. His older brothers left this morning for two days in Michigan with their dad and uncle, and Brady Bughunter was going to be heartbroken if he had to stay home all day with just his mom and Littlest Brady. I was a bit concerned because we don't have enough seat belts for five kids in my car, but he and his younger sister are small and skinny. We put them in the middle of the back seat and put one seat belt across both of them. Obviously I drove very carefully. Everything was fine.
So we went way up to Foster Avenue Beach on the north side because they have a lot of parking and it is very kid-friendly. It is a smaller beach and since it wasn't super-warm today the kids got cold in the water pretty fast. They had a good time looking for shells and burying each other in the sand. I had been thinking we should at least see the edge of the bird sanctuary at Montrose Beach, too, so we decided to pack up everything, take a walk around the rocks and the pier at Foster, then go down to Montrose and decide whether to swim some more or go look for birds or a little of both.
The rocks and the pier were a bigger hit than I expected because the lake was clear enough to see fish swimming. Some of them were very big. Brady Bughunter was so excited that his big sister Ines had to hold the back of his shirt to keep him from peering too far over the edges of everything. Ines did a very good job of looking out for her little brother today--she wanted to know if he can come help put the school supply bags for the block party together tomorrow, too, so he won't feel lonely while his brothers are gone. I said sure.
They definitely preferred Montrose Beach--it's a lot bigger, and you can go farther out in the water. I think the water was warmer, too. It was a longer hike from the water's edge back to the washrooms (which was a little bit of hassle for me, but we all survived). One of the Brady Girl cousins is a little water baby--she was always the last one out. Brady Bughunter and his sisters got colder easily--they're all very skinny. "I'm a skeleton!" BB proclaimed at one point, and he's right--not much meat on those bones. When his teeth started chattering I got him out of the water and wrapped him up in my extra-large beach towel. He was OK with playing in the sand for a while until he warmed up. The girls can all swim, though the youngest is not a strong swimmer yet. Brady Bughunter doesn't swim yet so I kept my eyes most closely on him in the water. Even though he really wanted to go way out in the water, he knew his comfort level and would stop when the water got higher than he was comfortable with. Part of me wanted to teach him to blow bubbles in the water, but he was more interested in just playing than learning to swim and I wanted to keep my hat and glasses on. I wasn't up to swimming, but I played "shark" (tag in the water) and monkey in the middle--another group of kids let us use their ball for a while.
At the very end, after we were back in our clothes and had had some fruit cups from a cart for a snack, we took a walk along the edge of the bird sanctuary. We only saw one bird, but we heard a few more once I shushed them. I said, "If you stop talking you'll probably hear and see more birds"--they all went "Shhh!" and then were quiet--we could hear bird calls then. We found tons of milkweed and they all made wishes. Right after we saw the one bird (might have been a female blue jay--we were pretty far away so it was hard to see), it started raining a little so we headed back.
Shortly before we got back to the car, BB hollered, "A bunny!" and ran toward a tree. We all followed him. There was a big hole in the bottom of the tree trunk. I'm not sure if the rabbit went in there or if there was no rabbit and BB just faked us all out, but we had fun looking for the bunny in the rain. Then it rained harder so we went back to the car and went home.
Clearly they had a good time, since in the car they wanted to know when we were going to do it again. "Probably next summer," I said.
Later, Water Girl Brady said, "So next month when we go again--"
"Um, what am I doing next month, you guys?" I asked.
"Having a baby!" they all chorused.
Yeah, so I think it will be next summer before we have another beach trip. But I'm glad we got to do it once this summer.
Today I took the afternoon off and drove a chunk of the Brady kids up to the north side for some time at the beach. Originally I had planned to take girls only--it's a five-seater car and there are four of them who play together a lot--but at the last minute we squeezed Brady Bughunter in, too. His older brothers left this morning for two days in Michigan with their dad and uncle, and Brady Bughunter was going to be heartbroken if he had to stay home all day with just his mom and Littlest Brady. I was a bit concerned because we don't have enough seat belts for five kids in my car, but he and his younger sister are small and skinny. We put them in the middle of the back seat and put one seat belt across both of them. Obviously I drove very carefully. Everything was fine.
So we went way up to Foster Avenue Beach on the north side because they have a lot of parking and it is very kid-friendly. It is a smaller beach and since it wasn't super-warm today the kids got cold in the water pretty fast. They had a good time looking for shells and burying each other in the sand. I had been thinking we should at least see the edge of the bird sanctuary at Montrose Beach, too, so we decided to pack up everything, take a walk around the rocks and the pier at Foster, then go down to Montrose and decide whether to swim some more or go look for birds or a little of both.
The rocks and the pier were a bigger hit than I expected because the lake was clear enough to see fish swimming. Some of them were very big. Brady Bughunter was so excited that his big sister Ines had to hold the back of his shirt to keep him from peering too far over the edges of everything. Ines did a very good job of looking out for her little brother today--she wanted to know if he can come help put the school supply bags for the block party together tomorrow, too, so he won't feel lonely while his brothers are gone. I said sure.
They definitely preferred Montrose Beach--it's a lot bigger, and you can go farther out in the water. I think the water was warmer, too. It was a longer hike from the water's edge back to the washrooms (which was a little bit of hassle for me, but we all survived). One of the Brady Girl cousins is a little water baby--she was always the last one out. Brady Bughunter and his sisters got colder easily--they're all very skinny. "I'm a skeleton!" BB proclaimed at one point, and he's right--not much meat on those bones. When his teeth started chattering I got him out of the water and wrapped him up in my extra-large beach towel. He was OK with playing in the sand for a while until he warmed up. The girls can all swim, though the youngest is not a strong swimmer yet. Brady Bughunter doesn't swim yet so I kept my eyes most closely on him in the water. Even though he really wanted to go way out in the water, he knew his comfort level and would stop when the water got higher than he was comfortable with. Part of me wanted to teach him to blow bubbles in the water, but he was more interested in just playing than learning to swim and I wanted to keep my hat and glasses on. I wasn't up to swimming, but I played "shark" (tag in the water) and monkey in the middle--another group of kids let us use their ball for a while.
At the very end, after we were back in our clothes and had had some fruit cups from a cart for a snack, we took a walk along the edge of the bird sanctuary. We only saw one bird, but we heard a few more once I shushed them. I said, "If you stop talking you'll probably hear and see more birds"--they all went "Shhh!" and then were quiet--we could hear bird calls then. We found tons of milkweed and they all made wishes. Right after we saw the one bird (might have been a female blue jay--we were pretty far away so it was hard to see), it started raining a little so we headed back.
Shortly before we got back to the car, BB hollered, "A bunny!" and ran toward a tree. We all followed him. There was a big hole in the bottom of the tree trunk. I'm not sure if the rabbit went in there or if there was no rabbit and BB just faked us all out, but we had fun looking for the bunny in the rain. Then it rained harder so we went back to the car and went home.
Clearly they had a good time, since in the car they wanted to know when we were going to do it again. "Probably next summer," I said.
Later, Water Girl Brady said, "So next month when we go again--"
"Um, what am I doing next month, you guys?" I asked.
"Having a baby!" they all chorused.
Yeah, so I think it will be next summer before we have another beach trip. But I'm glad we got to do it once this summer.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Block Party Drama?
Well, this morning signs went up all over the block (and the adjacent blocks east and west) warning that street resurfacing will start on Marshfield Avenue tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. Resurfacing has already started further north--the asphalt was off the street last Friday at 48th and Marshfield.
First, let me say I'm delighted that we're finally getting the street resurfaced all the way from 51st to 47th. It's just what we were hoping for, and it crosses two wards so probably wasn't so easy to arrange. But the timing is not the best, given that the block party is set for Saturday.
Jay-Z's aunt called the alderman's office this morning. Latrece Thompson got back to us saying that they will hold off on the street resurfacing until after the block party. I hope that comes true. I may be up early tomorrow morning just to make sure a construction crew doesn't start tearing up the street. Stay tuned.
First, let me say I'm delighted that we're finally getting the street resurfaced all the way from 51st to 47th. It's just what we were hoping for, and it crosses two wards so probably wasn't so easy to arrange. But the timing is not the best, given that the block party is set for Saturday.
Jay-Z's aunt called the alderman's office this morning. Latrece Thompson got back to us saying that they will hold off on the street resurfacing until after the block party. I hope that comes true. I may be up early tomorrow morning just to make sure a construction crew doesn't start tearing up the street. Stay tuned.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Hoops on Marshfield A Rousing Success
Hoops in the Hood made it to the parking lot at 48th and Marshfield tonight. Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council also blocked off the street at 48th and Marshfield. Kids and families from the surrounding blocks came by as well. The basketball action went on for two hours, and non-players enjoyed face-painting, hopscotch and riding their bikes in the street. Peter Pan and Tone-Loc played on the UNION Impact Center team--I'm glad to know they are hooked up with them. My friends whose son made his First Communion recently held a birthday party in the street--I saw Peter Pan's parents and some of the Bradys over there. Members of Jason Gill's family also have friends on the 4800 block and were sitting out with them in front of their house during the festivities. It was nice to see people from multiple blocks enjoying themselves together.
Everything seemed to go quite smoothly. I gather there was one incident where someone showed up and wanted to play ball but hadn't been on any of the organized teams that have been playing all summer. They let him join the court briefly but it became clear quickly he just wanted to draw attention to himself, so some of the officers present escorted him out, and that was that.
There were some nice freebies for everyone, too. Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council had hot dogs, icies, popcorn and water for the crowd, and gave away tote bags. Teen Living Programs gave away pen key chains and let people know about their services. We're not so used to free stuff around here. A lot of the kids took a minute to realize they could just get something to eat. "It's free?" asked my buddy Eddie.
"Yep. Go ahead and have a hot dog," I told him.
Lots of neighborhood stalwarts were out and about at the event: Sandy Traback and Officer Tony Mejia, CAPS beat facilitator/NHS Advisory Board member/ Richards LSC member Veronica Lopez, Officer King (who regularly comes to Beat 914 meetings), Rafael Yanez of UNION Impact Center, and tons of folks from the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council.
Congratulations to Maria Raygoza, who has been doing excellent work on the 4800 S. Marshfield block. She's formed a block club and they are working with Ald. Cochran to get street resurfacing. Signs on the block show that work should be starting next week. They've already gotten some sidewalk repairs and tree-trimming.
My camera isn't working, but I hope to get pictures from others early next week.
Everything seemed to go quite smoothly. I gather there was one incident where someone showed up and wanted to play ball but hadn't been on any of the organized teams that have been playing all summer. They let him join the court briefly but it became clear quickly he just wanted to draw attention to himself, so some of the officers present escorted him out, and that was that.
There were some nice freebies for everyone, too. Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council had hot dogs, icies, popcorn and water for the crowd, and gave away tote bags. Teen Living Programs gave away pen key chains and let people know about their services. We're not so used to free stuff around here. A lot of the kids took a minute to realize they could just get something to eat. "It's free?" asked my buddy Eddie.
"Yep. Go ahead and have a hot dog," I told him.
Lots of neighborhood stalwarts were out and about at the event: Sandy Traback and Officer Tony Mejia, CAPS beat facilitator/NHS Advisory Board member/ Richards LSC member Veronica Lopez, Officer King (who regularly comes to Beat 914 meetings), Rafael Yanez of UNION Impact Center, and tons of folks from the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council.
Congratulations to Maria Raygoza, who has been doing excellent work on the 4800 S. Marshfield block. She's formed a block club and they are working with Ald. Cochran to get street resurfacing. Signs on the block show that work should be starting next week. They've already gotten some sidewalk repairs and tree-trimming.
My camera isn't working, but I hope to get pictures from others early next week.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Hoops on Marshfield Tomorrow Night
Hoops in the Hood will be hosting youth basketball in the newly-paved Chavez Elementary parking lot at 48th and Marshfield tomorrow night. I think game time is 6 p.m. but am not totall sure of this. Anyway, it should be a good time.
Quick notes on other upcoming events--our block will be having its block party August 1. We missed the chance to get a city jumping jack for free, but if any readers know someone who can rent us one for a couple of hours we would be interested in talking with them. We expect to have basketball, soccer (I think), a blessing of some sort from Holy Cross/IHM and perhaps an art activity. A neighbor will DJ in the evening. The kids are thinking up games they can organize among themselves.
Special thanks to a number of local groups who have donated food or school supplies. The Su Casa Catholic Worker has large numbers of frozen hamburgers and buns left from the Fourth of July, plus a new arrival of beverages. Ald. Joann Thompson will provide chips and some beverage, and we are hoping to get hot dogs again this year from Rep. Esther Golar. Her office put us in touch with the 9th District CAPS implementation office, which may also be able to help. Park Federal donated bags and pens for our school supply kits. NHS may also be able to help with that. No Manches has agreed to donate some t-shirts as game prizes and Cafe Cedahlia will also help with refreshments. Meanwhile, Jay-Z's auntie and I have been hitting the back to school sales for pencils, rulers, scissors, folders, etc. A couple of neighbors have said they would help kick in more substantial amounts toward the expenses, and we'll probably go door-to-door and ask folks for a few bucks to help with the DJ (who's a lot cheaper than the person we got last year--whew!).
We may still be looking for someone to coach soccer and could use a high school or college student to supervise kids' activities like a bicycle race, water balloon toss, etc. (I would do this but at 8+ months pregnant I'm trying to limit how much physical activity I'll have to do day-of-event.)
Quick notes on other upcoming events--our block will be having its block party August 1. We missed the chance to get a city jumping jack for free, but if any readers know someone who can rent us one for a couple of hours we would be interested in talking with them. We expect to have basketball, soccer (I think), a blessing of some sort from Holy Cross/IHM and perhaps an art activity. A neighbor will DJ in the evening. The kids are thinking up games they can organize among themselves.
Special thanks to a number of local groups who have donated food or school supplies. The Su Casa Catholic Worker has large numbers of frozen hamburgers and buns left from the Fourth of July, plus a new arrival of beverages. Ald. Joann Thompson will provide chips and some beverage, and we are hoping to get hot dogs again this year from Rep. Esther Golar. Her office put us in touch with the 9th District CAPS implementation office, which may also be able to help. Park Federal donated bags and pens for our school supply kits. NHS may also be able to help with that. No Manches has agreed to donate some t-shirts as game prizes and Cafe Cedahlia will also help with refreshments. Meanwhile, Jay-Z's auntie and I have been hitting the back to school sales for pencils, rulers, scissors, folders, etc. A couple of neighbors have said they would help kick in more substantial amounts toward the expenses, and we'll probably go door-to-door and ask folks for a few bucks to help with the DJ (who's a lot cheaper than the person we got last year--whew!).
We may still be looking for someone to coach soccer and could use a high school or college student to supervise kids' activities like a bicycle race, water balloon toss, etc. (I would do this but at 8+ months pregnant I'm trying to limit how much physical activity I'll have to do day-of-event.)
Friday, July 17, 2009
Update on Ashland Avenue Streetlights & Friday Night Hoops
This afternoon I was at the corner of Ashland and 47th when I ran into the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council's Sean O'Farrell. He let me know BYNC is working on getting the Ashland streetlights back up and running. Thanks, BYNC, and I hope it can be done soon!
Sean also let me know that Back of the Yards is participating in Hoops in the Hood for a second year. They are hoping to play on the new parking lot at 48th and Marshfield, across from Chavez Elementary, next Friday night, but that is not yet confirmed. Tonight they are playing somewhere on Ada. Hoops in the Hood is a great way to bring neighbors together and make the streets a fun, safe place for kids on summer nights. To get a feel for what it's all about, click here and scroll down to "B-Ball on the Block," the original Little Village program that grew into Hoops.
Sean also let me know that Back of the Yards is participating in Hoops in the Hood for a second year. They are hoping to play on the new parking lot at 48th and Marshfield, across from Chavez Elementary, next Friday night, but that is not yet confirmed. Tonight they are playing somewhere on Ada. Hoops in the Hood is a great way to bring neighbors together and make the streets a fun, safe place for kids on summer nights. To get a feel for what it's all about, click here and scroll down to "B-Ball on the Block," the original Little Village program that grew into Hoops.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Is CAPS Going the Way of the Dodo?
Sorry to rehash old news here, but I just found this great WBEZ piece from June about how drastically CAPS beat meeting attendance has fallen since 2002. Both the story and the comments below make excellent points about how people do not trust police officers, how gang members' friends and families attend CAPS meetings and thus silence real discussion with officers, and how recent cuts are likely to make the situation worse. You can also see the contrast between police service in West Town and in South Chicago on display in the comments section.
I'm just now trying to get in touch with the CAPS implementation office--I have a contact email but not a phone number. Well, thanks to CLEARpath and a few minutes of digging, I now have a number: 312-747-9987. But now they're asking me for my party's extension and there doesn't seem to be a way to leave a general message. It's now awfully close to 5 p.m. on a Friday in July, so I can't say I'm surprised. Will have to try again next week.
I'm just now trying to get in touch with the CAPS implementation office--I have a contact email but not a phone number. Well, thanks to CLEARpath and a few minutes of digging, I now have a number: 312-747-9987. But now they're asking me for my party's extension and there doesn't seem to be a way to leave a general message. It's now awfully close to 5 p.m. on a Friday in July, so I can't say I'm surprised. Will have to try again next week.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
What's up with the Streetlights in Back of the Yards?
So this has been bugging me for about a month. The streetlights are still out on Ashland Avenue between 47th and 49th. Last night I drove home along 47th from Western to Ashland and discovered the streetlights are also out for a few of the half blocks between Damen and Ashland. Is all of that from the building explosion near 48th and Ashland in early June? Is there something else going on with the 47th Street lights? And what is the holdup about getting them fixed?
All I can say is, I bet if two major commercial strips on the North Side had streetlights out, it wouldn't take over a month to get them back in action, building explosions or no.
All I can say is, I bet if two major commercial strips on the North Side had streetlights out, it wouldn't take over a month to get them back in action, building explosions or no.
This Week's Vegetable Winner
...was Sarah and her family, since she hasn't been to the farm since last summer and the trip was canceled. She got a small bunch of carrots with the greens still attached, a zucchini or two, two heads of red leaf lettuce and a bagful of peas. On the way home from the craft store she was about the only one who said she liked peas, which also factored into my decision.
Camp Marshfield Goes Mobile, Part II
So today was supposed to be another trip to the Growing Home urban farm at 58th and Wood, but between the drizzle and a last-minute meeting, I ended up having West Town Bikes deliver again. Instead, I took five girls with me to Merceria Maria on 47th Street near Wood. It's a sewing/craft store with a lot of decorations for weddings and baby showers. The girls like to do craft projects, so I figured I could invest $20-$25 in their efforts and they would be less bored now that the summer community arts program at Chavez is over.
"So here's your challenge," I told them. "You have about 20 dollars total to spend, and you want to figure out how to get the most out of it." At first they were pretty set on dividing that into four dollars apiece and each picking out stuff they wanted for their own projects. Before we left, Youngest Brady Girl was saying, "Wait. I could go back to my house and ask my dad for some money."
"No, honey, that's not the point," I told her. "Your mom and dad have enough things to spend money on--food, gas, the house."
"Yeah, the house is expensive," said her older sister. I gather the family is thinking about trying to refinance their mortgage. Her mom has taken a part time job--night shift at a laundry on weekends, Thursday through Sunday. She works 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. I think it sounds killer hard just because it's night shift and she has five kids in the house (granted some of them are teens and working this summer). One of the girls said her mom likes it because it's not hard work and the money is good--$890 a month. The girls all have to be very quiet in the house on the days their mom sleeps in before she goes to work.
So we walked over to the craft store and talked about snakes on the way there. We went past the hole in the viaduct where the garden snake lives, which sparked the discussion. Ines said she was taking a shortcut to McKinley Park (if I weren't pregnant I'd walk with her one day to see how she gets there) when she saw a really big, fat garden snake and she got scared and ran. We were all laughing about how the guys at the farm told us there were lots of snakes on the viaduct at 58th Street last week, but they didn't tell us that until after we came down, so the girls got a little scared after the fact.
When we got to the sewing/craft store the girls took a long time checking out the inventory and admiring the pretty shower decorations. They eventually began to understand what I was saying about pooling their money--for example, if they bought larger bags of beads and shared them, it might be cheaper than buying individual bags. But I don't think they could all agree on a color scheme, so it ended up being a mix of larger and smaller bags. Sarah got very interested in the felt squares and foam boards. Ines' little sister had her own project in mind that required a single piece of something that was part of a larger shower object (they sell it in pieces and the owner was OK with just selling her the one part). Ines and her two cousins were pretty set on making bead bracelets, I think.
But they kept having these secret conferences and giggling in the corner of the store. I knew they were talking about making baby-related things for me--not actual stuff for the baby, but little showery-type things. Once they had their items picked out, we took a minute before going to the counter to estimate how much everything would cost. Each girl had an armful of items she had picked out and we estimated their costs. Most of the girls had it figured out before I even asked, but when we got to Youngest Brady Girl, her face was a blank and she shrugged. Her sister, with a slightly exasperated air of 'do I have to do this for you again?' grabbed the beads out of her hands, looked at the price, rounded it up and started calculating. (By the way, youngest Brady Girl's mom is no dummy-she voluntarily put her youngest in academic summer school this summer. Hopefully our trip was a little nudge in the direction of the idea that math actually helps you in real life.) When we added everyone's items together, we thought it would come in between 20 and 25 dollars. (We didn't figure the sales tax--since I guess it's still an easy, and outrageous, 10 percent, we could have.)
Anyway, we went to the counter and it came out to be something like $22.60. The owner gave us a couple of discounts and threw in a freebie, probably because he's nice and could see I was treating the girls, and maybe also because it was a fairly large order of small, random items. (I"m sure he and his wife make their real money on the shower goodies.)
"I was afraid it was going to be like 30 or 40 dollars," Ines said as we left the store.
"If it had been that high I would have made you put some stuff back," I said. "But you came in right where I thought you would. Good work shopping and estimating!"
"It's hard deciding when there are so many choices," she said later.
"Yeah, sometimes that's the hardest part about shopping," I replied.
When we got home, the girls had a craft fest out on my back porch. They brought over stuff from home so they could make flowers out of tissue paper and pipe cleaners. They also made cards out of construction paper as well as some of the felt. And yes, the cards were in shades of blue and said "It's a boy." Ines made me one with blue and purple felt hearts that said, "I'm always here when you need help." I'll take her up on that. She's 13 and the oldest of six; I was her age when I had my first babysitting gig (with a toddler, not a newborn, but I had learned baby stuff on my youngest sister). I wouldn't leave her alone with the baby until he's older, but she's definitely top of my list of candidates for mother's helper this fall.
Meanwhile, Peter Pan's youngest sister, Youngest Brady Boy and Angel were running around in the yard chasing each other. So we had about 10 kids out back, including the bun in the oven. As the crafts wound down, a couple of Brady Girls wanted to feed the composter. So I looked in the fridge and found some bagged broccoli florets that had seen better days. They dumped them in, then they wanted to mix and water everything. Oldest Brady Boy had stopped by at this point, and he had the longest reach, so he got in there with a trowel and mixed everything up. Then they watered it with the hose.
Around that time we also got a very special guest--the first appearance in my back yard of Baby D, Sarah's five-or-six-month-old niece. Tia Sarah, who's nine, and Baby D's four-year-old big sister brought her over in a stroller. Baby D was very quiet and watched everybody with her big eyes. She was very patient with all the attention from the girls. Youngest Brady brought over a toy accordion and Tia Sarah tried playing it for Baby D. "Sometimes she turns around suddenly if you make noise," Sarah said.
They also tried getting her attention by calling her name. Sometimes she responds and sometimes she doesn't, Sarah and Baby D's big sister told me. Then Baby D's big sister tried waving one of the little rattles from the craft store at her. She wanted to hold it. "Don't let her put it in her mouth," I said. "It's too little-she could choke on it."
Of course, once in Baby D's hand, it went to her mouth in an instant. One of the Brady girls swiped it and handed it back to D's sister. Since she's only four, she started to show it to her again, and Baby D started to cry in frustration.
"Don't let her see it," I said. "Watch, she'll forget about it." One of the girls hid it, and I started playing a different game with Baby D, just waving my fingers at her or something. She stopped crying within seconds. "Right now she thinks it just disappeared for good," I told them. "When she gets older she will realize it still exists, and then she won't stop crying for something she wants right away if you take it from her." I got a kick out of explaining object permanence in pretty basic terms to the girls.
"So here's your challenge," I told them. "You have about 20 dollars total to spend, and you want to figure out how to get the most out of it." At first they were pretty set on dividing that into four dollars apiece and each picking out stuff they wanted for their own projects. Before we left, Youngest Brady Girl was saying, "Wait. I could go back to my house and ask my dad for some money."
"No, honey, that's not the point," I told her. "Your mom and dad have enough things to spend money on--food, gas, the house."
"Yeah, the house is expensive," said her older sister. I gather the family is thinking about trying to refinance their mortgage. Her mom has taken a part time job--night shift at a laundry on weekends, Thursday through Sunday. She works 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. I think it sounds killer hard just because it's night shift and she has five kids in the house (granted some of them are teens and working this summer). One of the girls said her mom likes it because it's not hard work and the money is good--$890 a month. The girls all have to be very quiet in the house on the days their mom sleeps in before she goes to work.
So we walked over to the craft store and talked about snakes on the way there. We went past the hole in the viaduct where the garden snake lives, which sparked the discussion. Ines said she was taking a shortcut to McKinley Park (if I weren't pregnant I'd walk with her one day to see how she gets there) when she saw a really big, fat garden snake and she got scared and ran. We were all laughing about how the guys at the farm told us there were lots of snakes on the viaduct at 58th Street last week, but they didn't tell us that until after we came down, so the girls got a little scared after the fact.
When we got to the sewing/craft store the girls took a long time checking out the inventory and admiring the pretty shower decorations. They eventually began to understand what I was saying about pooling their money--for example, if they bought larger bags of beads and shared them, it might be cheaper than buying individual bags. But I don't think they could all agree on a color scheme, so it ended up being a mix of larger and smaller bags. Sarah got very interested in the felt squares and foam boards. Ines' little sister had her own project in mind that required a single piece of something that was part of a larger shower object (they sell it in pieces and the owner was OK with just selling her the one part). Ines and her two cousins were pretty set on making bead bracelets, I think.
But they kept having these secret conferences and giggling in the corner of the store. I knew they were talking about making baby-related things for me--not actual stuff for the baby, but little showery-type things. Once they had their items picked out, we took a minute before going to the counter to estimate how much everything would cost. Each girl had an armful of items she had picked out and we estimated their costs. Most of the girls had it figured out before I even asked, but when we got to Youngest Brady Girl, her face was a blank and she shrugged. Her sister, with a slightly exasperated air of 'do I have to do this for you again?' grabbed the beads out of her hands, looked at the price, rounded it up and started calculating. (By the way, youngest Brady Girl's mom is no dummy-she voluntarily put her youngest in academic summer school this summer. Hopefully our trip was a little nudge in the direction of the idea that math actually helps you in real life.) When we added everyone's items together, we thought it would come in between 20 and 25 dollars. (We didn't figure the sales tax--since I guess it's still an easy, and outrageous, 10 percent, we could have.)
Anyway, we went to the counter and it came out to be something like $22.60. The owner gave us a couple of discounts and threw in a freebie, probably because he's nice and could see I was treating the girls, and maybe also because it was a fairly large order of small, random items. (I"m sure he and his wife make their real money on the shower goodies.)
"I was afraid it was going to be like 30 or 40 dollars," Ines said as we left the store.
"If it had been that high I would have made you put some stuff back," I said. "But you came in right where I thought you would. Good work shopping and estimating!"
"It's hard deciding when there are so many choices," she said later.
"Yeah, sometimes that's the hardest part about shopping," I replied.
When we got home, the girls had a craft fest out on my back porch. They brought over stuff from home so they could make flowers out of tissue paper and pipe cleaners. They also made cards out of construction paper as well as some of the felt. And yes, the cards were in shades of blue and said "It's a boy." Ines made me one with blue and purple felt hearts that said, "I'm always here when you need help." I'll take her up on that. She's 13 and the oldest of six; I was her age when I had my first babysitting gig (with a toddler, not a newborn, but I had learned baby stuff on my youngest sister). I wouldn't leave her alone with the baby until he's older, but she's definitely top of my list of candidates for mother's helper this fall.
Meanwhile, Peter Pan's youngest sister, Youngest Brady Boy and Angel were running around in the yard chasing each other. So we had about 10 kids out back, including the bun in the oven. As the crafts wound down, a couple of Brady Girls wanted to feed the composter. So I looked in the fridge and found some bagged broccoli florets that had seen better days. They dumped them in, then they wanted to mix and water everything. Oldest Brady Boy had stopped by at this point, and he had the longest reach, so he got in there with a trowel and mixed everything up. Then they watered it with the hose.
Around that time we also got a very special guest--the first appearance in my back yard of Baby D, Sarah's five-or-six-month-old niece. Tia Sarah, who's nine, and Baby D's four-year-old big sister brought her over in a stroller. Baby D was very quiet and watched everybody with her big eyes. She was very patient with all the attention from the girls. Youngest Brady brought over a toy accordion and Tia Sarah tried playing it for Baby D. "Sometimes she turns around suddenly if you make noise," Sarah said.
They also tried getting her attention by calling her name. Sometimes she responds and sometimes she doesn't, Sarah and Baby D's big sister told me. Then Baby D's big sister tried waving one of the little rattles from the craft store at her. She wanted to hold it. "Don't let her put it in her mouth," I said. "It's too little-she could choke on it."
Of course, once in Baby D's hand, it went to her mouth in an instant. One of the Brady girls swiped it and handed it back to D's sister. Since she's only four, she started to show it to her again, and Baby D started to cry in frustration.
"Don't let her see it," I said. "Watch, she'll forget about it." One of the girls hid it, and I started playing a different game with Baby D, just waving my fingers at her or something. She stopped crying within seconds. "Right now she thinks it just disappeared for good," I told them. "When she gets older she will realize it still exists, and then she won't stop crying for something she wants right away if you take it from her." I got a kick out of explaining object permanence in pretty basic terms to the girls.
Camp Marshfield Goes Mobile, Part I
Well, it's interesting how Camp Marshfield seems to be evolving this summer to fit two key changing circumstances: the new car and the impending baby. The new car means I do more road trips. On Tuesday I took Picasso, Joey, Jay-Z and Peter Pan's brother to Pros Arts Studio in Dvorak Park in Pilsen for their street art class. I've only been talking about this since February, but hey, we finally got there.
We were late. I had the time wrong, and then Peter Pan's brother was getting a haircut from some guy down the block. Bro got a Nike swoosh shaved into the back of his head. Jay-Z got a cool, abstract kind of design shaved into his head recently, by somebody over on Ashland Avenue.
"The first one is free. Next time it's five bucks," Mr. Shaver told me while we were all standing around watching him put the finishing touches on Bro's swoosh. Peter Pan's older sister went by and so did one of the older Brady Girls--the boys were teasing them about did they want a haircut. "Oh, no, I worked too hard to grow my hair this long," said the relevant Brady Girl. Peter Pan's sister just squealed in disgust at the idea.
When the swoosh was done, we all got in the car and drove to Dvorak Park. When we got there I had no idea where in the park the class was. At first I thought it might be over by the pool because that building is painted over with youth art. But no, that was the locker rooms. One girl peeked out and didn't say anything when I asked, "Is the art class in here?" But then she saw all the boys and suddenly there were a couple of girls screaming at them to come over. We all laughed and walked to the field house. The guy at the desk wasn't very clear about where the room was, so we spent some time wandering in a maze of locked rooms before we got down to the basement and saw the little room on one end where a bunch of kids were at a table, drawing.
"Hi, can we join you?" I asked the young Latina teacher.
"Sure," she said. "Come on in." I came in and hung out with them--normally I wouldn't be such a helicopter mom-figure but I really didn't know if Jay-Z and Bro had the stamina for an hour of an art project. I also didn't know if there would be any trouble since the guys weren't from the neighborhood, so I thought it was worth hanging out on the sidelines. I passed some wet wipes around and asked Jay-Z and Bro how it was going once or twice, but mostly I just let them alone. The vibe in the room was good--with our guys it was 14 young people and they were all concentrating hard on their projects. The teacher gave some kids suggestions here and there but mostly just let them go at it and made sure they all had the materials they needed.
The teacher got the guys set up at the table (they split up except for Joey and Jay-Z) and gave them pieces of paper and pastels. The task was to pick a word--your name, some other relevant word--write it out big in whatever style you preferred (block letters, bubble letters, Olde English, the really hard to read graffiti style, or whatever) then work on a color scheme using blended pastels. Once you were done you could take it outside and spray it with fixative. Picasso jumped in right away and Joey was not far behind. Jay-Z and Bro took a lot longer to decide what they were doing, as I expected. Eventually Jay-Z got bored and went outside to watch basketball. Bro surprised me--he hung in there and actually had something I thought looked cool by the end. The teacher gave Picasso and Joey registration forms to take home, get filled out and bring back next week if they go back. Bro didn't get one, but when we got home he said, "I want to go next week." I promised we'd get him a paper then.
Picasso said it was "not bad" and was noncommital about going again, but if it's raining or he's bored I bet he would go. I think Joey would go--I get the feeling he is pretty bored hanging out here this summer. I wish I had more to offer him.
Just as we were turning on to Marshfield Avenue, the New Boyz song "You're a jerk" came on the radio. I had never heard it before and started making fun of it instantly. "You're a jerk," I said, real nasally, and all the guys cracked up.
"They get paid to do that," Picasso said in semi-mock amazement.
"Yeah, I know," I said. "I could do that. I could put it on YouTube." We were all laughing.
I double-parked in front of my house to let them out and run in to grab something for a meeting. Picasso and Joey's moms were on the other side of the street, so I went to talk to them. "I think they liked it," I said in Spanish. "They have papers that need your signature to register. It's free but they have to take the papers back next week."
"Is it far?" Joey's mom asked.
"No, it's in Pilsen, at a park," I said. "I can help drive."
They each said they could drive sometimes too. So maybe this will actually happen. If Picasso actually liked it enough maybe he could get a job with them next summer. The guy I think was the paid student intern/apprentice--he asked where the timecards were--didn't strike me as the most dedicated. He did his own thing, didn't seem to interact with the other young people, and left to play basketball when his own project was done. Maybe it was an off day. I bet Picasso would be better, though.
We were late. I had the time wrong, and then Peter Pan's brother was getting a haircut from some guy down the block. Bro got a Nike swoosh shaved into the back of his head. Jay-Z got a cool, abstract kind of design shaved into his head recently, by somebody over on Ashland Avenue.
"The first one is free. Next time it's five bucks," Mr. Shaver told me while we were all standing around watching him put the finishing touches on Bro's swoosh. Peter Pan's older sister went by and so did one of the older Brady Girls--the boys were teasing them about did they want a haircut. "Oh, no, I worked too hard to grow my hair this long," said the relevant Brady Girl. Peter Pan's sister just squealed in disgust at the idea.
When the swoosh was done, we all got in the car and drove to Dvorak Park. When we got there I had no idea where in the park the class was. At first I thought it might be over by the pool because that building is painted over with youth art. But no, that was the locker rooms. One girl peeked out and didn't say anything when I asked, "Is the art class in here?" But then she saw all the boys and suddenly there were a couple of girls screaming at them to come over. We all laughed and walked to the field house. The guy at the desk wasn't very clear about where the room was, so we spent some time wandering in a maze of locked rooms before we got down to the basement and saw the little room on one end where a bunch of kids were at a table, drawing.
"Hi, can we join you?" I asked the young Latina teacher.
"Sure," she said. "Come on in." I came in and hung out with them--normally I wouldn't be such a helicopter mom-figure but I really didn't know if Jay-Z and Bro had the stamina for an hour of an art project. I also didn't know if there would be any trouble since the guys weren't from the neighborhood, so I thought it was worth hanging out on the sidelines. I passed some wet wipes around and asked Jay-Z and Bro how it was going once or twice, but mostly I just let them alone. The vibe in the room was good--with our guys it was 14 young people and they were all concentrating hard on their projects. The teacher gave some kids suggestions here and there but mostly just let them go at it and made sure they all had the materials they needed.
The teacher got the guys set up at the table (they split up except for Joey and Jay-Z) and gave them pieces of paper and pastels. The task was to pick a word--your name, some other relevant word--write it out big in whatever style you preferred (block letters, bubble letters, Olde English, the really hard to read graffiti style, or whatever) then work on a color scheme using blended pastels. Once you were done you could take it outside and spray it with fixative. Picasso jumped in right away and Joey was not far behind. Jay-Z and Bro took a lot longer to decide what they were doing, as I expected. Eventually Jay-Z got bored and went outside to watch basketball. Bro surprised me--he hung in there and actually had something I thought looked cool by the end. The teacher gave Picasso and Joey registration forms to take home, get filled out and bring back next week if they go back. Bro didn't get one, but when we got home he said, "I want to go next week." I promised we'd get him a paper then.
Picasso said it was "not bad" and was noncommital about going again, but if it's raining or he's bored I bet he would go. I think Joey would go--I get the feeling he is pretty bored hanging out here this summer. I wish I had more to offer him.
Just as we were turning on to Marshfield Avenue, the New Boyz song "You're a jerk" came on the radio. I had never heard it before and started making fun of it instantly. "You're a jerk," I said, real nasally, and all the guys cracked up.
"They get paid to do that," Picasso said in semi-mock amazement.
"Yeah, I know," I said. "I could do that. I could put it on YouTube." We were all laughing.
I double-parked in front of my house to let them out and run in to grab something for a meeting. Picasso and Joey's moms were on the other side of the street, so I went to talk to them. "I think they liked it," I said in Spanish. "They have papers that need your signature to register. It's free but they have to take the papers back next week."
"Is it far?" Joey's mom asked.
"No, it's in Pilsen, at a park," I said. "I can help drive."
They each said they could drive sometimes too. So maybe this will actually happen. If Picasso actually liked it enough maybe he could get a job with them next summer. The guy I think was the paid student intern/apprentice--he asked where the timecards were--didn't strike me as the most dedicated. He did his own thing, didn't seem to interact with the other young people, and left to play basketball when his own project was done. Maybe it was an off day. I bet Picasso would be better, though.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Block Party Fever Begins to Rise
Last night Peter Pan told me his mom wanted to know if we could do the block party on July 4. Good Lord--that's like next week! "I think we need more time to plan, but your mom can call the alderman's office and see what they say, " I told him, and gave him the number.
This afternoon he called me and said his mom had spoken to the office. "They said they can do it, but somebody they already worked with has to come in for the permit." I said I could go with her tomorrow afternoon. I think we should talk to a couple other people on the block first, though, and decide for sure about the date. I think Peter Pan's family wants it on the Fourth so the street will be blocked off and they can shoot fireworks, but I don't know what else they are willing to do to make the party nice. (They did get the DJ last year, so maybe they can do that again on a week's notice.) I doubt I could get In the Paint or the Chicago Children's Museum to show up on a holiday with so little lead time. And just scanning their websites, In the Paint is at the Taste of Chicago on July 4 and I don't see a link on the Children's Museum web site for the traveling programs they had last summer.
But if they want to do it July 4 because people are off work, let 'em. I personally want to get out of town if at all possible. I hate street firecrackers--they make me very nervous. And boy, they are hard to avoid around here.
This afternoon he called me and said his mom had spoken to the office. "They said they can do it, but somebody they already worked with has to come in for the permit." I said I could go with her tomorrow afternoon. I think we should talk to a couple other people on the block first, though, and decide for sure about the date. I think Peter Pan's family wants it on the Fourth so the street will be blocked off and they can shoot fireworks, but I don't know what else they are willing to do to make the party nice. (They did get the DJ last year, so maybe they can do that again on a week's notice.) I doubt I could get In the Paint or the Chicago Children's Museum to show up on a holiday with so little lead time. And just scanning their websites, In the Paint is at the Taste of Chicago on July 4 and I don't see a link on the Children's Museum web site for the traveling programs they had last summer.
But if they want to do it July 4 because people are off work, let 'em. I personally want to get out of town if at all possible. I hate street firecrackers--they make me very nervous. And boy, they are hard to avoid around here.
Summer on Marshfield Avenue
Well, the other day four or five kids were on the front step and we were talking.
"I might not be as much fun this summer as I was last summer," I warned them.
"Because of the baby?" Alicia asked.
"Yep."
One thing I think I'm good for is a weekly field trip to the Growing Home urban farm at 58th and Wood. I got a discounted share of vegetables for the summer on condition I share it with the neighbors. So far Su Casa got the kale and lettuce the first week, the Bradys got the strawberries last week, and Junior's mom got carrots, zucchini and lettuce this week. A lot of the early vegetables, like kale and asparagus, are unfamiliar to the Mexican moms on the blook. I tried to give Ines's mom the pick of the box the first week, but she said, "I don't know how to cook them," and it's a bit difficult to teach cooking unless we're going to actually sit down in the kitchen and do it together, which I didn't really have time to do. When the tomatoes and more squash come in it will be easier to share.
Last week with the car out of commission I was lucky to get West Town Bikes to deliver the box to my house on short notice. Some of the girls got to meet the two young women who stopped by with it along their bike delivery route.
Now that the car is back in action, I piled two Brady Girls and Peter Pan's two sisters in the car yesterday for the trip.
"It's fresh in here," said Mary Brady on entering the car. "My dad's car is hot!" (By the way, "fresh" is a literal translation of Spanish fresco/a, which would really be "cool" in standard English, but I hear it so often I know what it means now.)
"It's only because it was parked in the shade," I told her.
When we were about a block north of the farm, we ran into a couple dozen kids in the middle of the street with an open fire hydrant. I drove through them very slowly. One boy had a big plastic box full of water. He looked like he was thinking about throwing it at the car.
"Don't even..." said Peter Pan's big sister. (The windows were shut; he couldn't hear her.)
I wouldn't really have minded if he had, but he didn't. They all ran off to carry some girl into the hydrant's spray.
"That's hard when they hold you in there," Peter Pan's big sister said.
We parked, got the box, then waded across a giant puddle to go see how the veggies were growing in the hoop houses. It was so hot they had the plastic walls rolled up to let the heat out. Mary noticed the three compost bins across from the hoop houses. "Is that like your composter?" she asked.
"Well, these are a lot better maintained," I said. "And look, there's a thermometer in one of them. Let's see what it says." It read 100 degrees, which was probably not more than 10 degrees above the air temperature, but that's a lot hotter than the temperature in my compost pile. We had a little discussion about that.
Then we got to their favorite part--going up the viaduct. "We can go farther today, because I feel good and I'm not in a hurry," I told them.
The girls chased butterflies and looked for other bugs and interesting things buried in the long grass as we walked eastward across Wood. It was so hot I don't think we quite even made it to the next block. "Do you guys want to go to the lake?" I asked them.
"Yeah!" So we walked back, eased our way back down the steep slope by the hoop houses, got in the call and called their moms to make sure it was OK. It was. So we went to 31st Street Beach. The only hard part was that the parking lot was very full. We drove through all the teeny lots and I let them get out at then end and go walk in the park while I kept looking for a space. "Do not go near the water until I join you," I warned them. "BUt you can stick your feet in the shower or play on the playground."
I got almost all the way back to the 31st Street entrance when someone pulled out of a handicapped space. I swear I have never parked in a handicapped space before in my entire life, but I knew we weren't staying very long and I was desperate to get out of the car and go find the girls. They were walking along the stone pathway next to the lake when they saw me and came running. We went to the bathroom and then out to the lake. They had a grand old time splashing each other and looking for shells and pretty rocks in the lake bottom along the edge. Nobody went out past their knees and we all kept a close eye on Peter Pan's baby sister. "You can't drown or Mom will kill me," her big sister told her.
I kept a close eye on the time and hauled them out after 10 minutes or so. It took us another ten minutes to get the sand off everybody's feet and walk back to the car. Just as we arrived, a cop was walking around my car looking for the handicapped tag. "I'm leaving right now, sir!" I called. "I'm pregnant and I just had to stop to pick up the girls."
"You're lucky," the cop told me. Whew!
The girls agreed with me that Brady Bughunter should come next week since he will have such a good time looking for bugs on the viaduct.
"I might not be as much fun this summer as I was last summer," I warned them.
"Because of the baby?" Alicia asked.
"Yep."
One thing I think I'm good for is a weekly field trip to the Growing Home urban farm at 58th and Wood. I got a discounted share of vegetables for the summer on condition I share it with the neighbors. So far Su Casa got the kale and lettuce the first week, the Bradys got the strawberries last week, and Junior's mom got carrots, zucchini and lettuce this week. A lot of the early vegetables, like kale and asparagus, are unfamiliar to the Mexican moms on the blook. I tried to give Ines's mom the pick of the box the first week, but she said, "I don't know how to cook them," and it's a bit difficult to teach cooking unless we're going to actually sit down in the kitchen and do it together, which I didn't really have time to do. When the tomatoes and more squash come in it will be easier to share.
Last week with the car out of commission I was lucky to get West Town Bikes to deliver the box to my house on short notice. Some of the girls got to meet the two young women who stopped by with it along their bike delivery route.
Now that the car is back in action, I piled two Brady Girls and Peter Pan's two sisters in the car yesterday for the trip.
"It's fresh in here," said Mary Brady on entering the car. "My dad's car is hot!" (By the way, "fresh" is a literal translation of Spanish fresco/a, which would really be "cool" in standard English, but I hear it so often I know what it means now.)
"It's only because it was parked in the shade," I told her.
When we were about a block north of the farm, we ran into a couple dozen kids in the middle of the street with an open fire hydrant. I drove through them very slowly. One boy had a big plastic box full of water. He looked like he was thinking about throwing it at the car.
"Don't even..." said Peter Pan's big sister. (The windows were shut; he couldn't hear her.)
I wouldn't really have minded if he had, but he didn't. They all ran off to carry some girl into the hydrant's spray.
"That's hard when they hold you in there," Peter Pan's big sister said.
We parked, got the box, then waded across a giant puddle to go see how the veggies were growing in the hoop houses. It was so hot they had the plastic walls rolled up to let the heat out. Mary noticed the three compost bins across from the hoop houses. "Is that like your composter?" she asked.
"Well, these are a lot better maintained," I said. "And look, there's a thermometer in one of them. Let's see what it says." It read 100 degrees, which was probably not more than 10 degrees above the air temperature, but that's a lot hotter than the temperature in my compost pile. We had a little discussion about that.
Then we got to their favorite part--going up the viaduct. "We can go farther today, because I feel good and I'm not in a hurry," I told them.
The girls chased butterflies and looked for other bugs and interesting things buried in the long grass as we walked eastward across Wood. It was so hot I don't think we quite even made it to the next block. "Do you guys want to go to the lake?" I asked them.
"Yeah!" So we walked back, eased our way back down the steep slope by the hoop houses, got in the call and called their moms to make sure it was OK. It was. So we went to 31st Street Beach. The only hard part was that the parking lot was very full. We drove through all the teeny lots and I let them get out at then end and go walk in the park while I kept looking for a space. "Do not go near the water until I join you," I warned them. "BUt you can stick your feet in the shower or play on the playground."
I got almost all the way back to the 31st Street entrance when someone pulled out of a handicapped space. I swear I have never parked in a handicapped space before in my entire life, but I knew we weren't staying very long and I was desperate to get out of the car and go find the girls. They were walking along the stone pathway next to the lake when they saw me and came running. We went to the bathroom and then out to the lake. They had a grand old time splashing each other and looking for shells and pretty rocks in the lake bottom along the edge. Nobody went out past their knees and we all kept a close eye on Peter Pan's baby sister. "You can't drown or Mom will kill me," her big sister told her.
I kept a close eye on the time and hauled them out after 10 minutes or so. It took us another ten minutes to get the sand off everybody's feet and walk back to the car. Just as we arrived, a cop was walking around my car looking for the handicapped tag. "I'm leaving right now, sir!" I called. "I'm pregnant and I just had to stop to pick up the girls."
"You're lucky," the cop told me. Whew!
The girls agreed with me that Brady Bughunter should come next week since he will have such a good time looking for bugs on the viaduct.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Summer Job Hunting
After the car saga came to a successful conclusion, Oldest Brady Girl came by tonight to do her online application for a summer job through the Youth Ready Chicago website. They are taking applications through July 6, but some programs have earlier deadlines, so if you haven't signed up yet, do it soon!
Oldest Brady Girl's two sisters did their applications here last night, and another girl from the next block up did hers here a while ago. Here's what I've learned about the application process. It seems to go a lot more easily if you know the organization you want to apply to--if you're just applying for everything it takes a long time to work through all the stuff. Last night for some reason some of the girls found themselves accidentally logged out and had to start all over--I'm still not sure why that happened. The After School Matters programs are listed by sponsoring organization, and that's the easiest way to find the program you're looking for. So if you want to do an ASM program, it's good to do your homework first and know the organization you want to apply to.
While Oldest Brady successfully completed her application tonight, her sisters and cousins were wanting to help me out. "Do you need us to clean anything?" Ines asked me.
"Yes I do," I said. "Want to sweep the floor?" They did. Then they organized the vast pile of baby gear in the room that will eventually become the nursery. They found this goofy doll somebody gave me that I kept mostly to practice with baby carriers (especially the sling wrap that a dear friend and regular reader of this blog recently got for me--thanks so much! Now that the car works again I can go pick it up.) Tonight Ines came downstairs with the dolly in a Baby Bjorn. It was flopping around and we were all cracking up.
"You don't fold your own clothes that nicely at home," Oldest Brady Girl teased one of her younger sister, who had been organizing and folding baby clothes.
I had leftover baby shower favors from a shower with my relatives out east, so each of the younger girls picked out their favorite animal-shaped cookie cutter to take home with them.
I hope the older girls actually do get jobs out of this. I have contacts at a couple of the organizations they applied to, so we sent emails to those contact people saying they have applied on line and is there anything else they have to do. We'll see.
Oldest Brady Girl's two sisters did their applications here last night, and another girl from the next block up did hers here a while ago. Here's what I've learned about the application process. It seems to go a lot more easily if you know the organization you want to apply to--if you're just applying for everything it takes a long time to work through all the stuff. Last night for some reason some of the girls found themselves accidentally logged out and had to start all over--I'm still not sure why that happened. The After School Matters programs are listed by sponsoring organization, and that's the easiest way to find the program you're looking for. So if you want to do an ASM program, it's good to do your homework first and know the organization you want to apply to.
While Oldest Brady successfully completed her application tonight, her sisters and cousins were wanting to help me out. "Do you need us to clean anything?" Ines asked me.
"Yes I do," I said. "Want to sweep the floor?" They did. Then they organized the vast pile of baby gear in the room that will eventually become the nursery. They found this goofy doll somebody gave me that I kept mostly to practice with baby carriers (especially the sling wrap that a dear friend and regular reader of this blog recently got for me--thanks so much! Now that the car works again I can go pick it up.) Tonight Ines came downstairs with the dolly in a Baby Bjorn. It was flopping around and we were all cracking up.
"You don't fold your own clothes that nicely at home," Oldest Brady Girl teased one of her younger sister, who had been organizing and folding baby clothes.
I had leftover baby shower favors from a shower with my relatives out east, so each of the younger girls picked out their favorite animal-shaped cookie cutter to take home with them.
I hope the older girls actually do get jobs out of this. I have contacts at a couple of the organizations they applied to, so we sent emails to those contact people saying they have applied on line and is there anything else they have to do. We'll see.
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