After having a summer bereft of rainfall, we've made up for it the past few days. Friday and Saturday's deluge has been followed up by today's very Seattle-like spitting rain, which is more interested in getting you damp than in soaking you through. On my bike, I always slow down in the rain because the front tire throws way too much grime and water up on my legs and feet. The back tire used to give a nice racing stripe down the back until the child seat took care of that for me. At 7 a.m. there aren't so many cars out, so there weren't so many fools to watch out for, although I did see an idiot make a left turn to go eastbound down I Street off Pennsylvania Avenue at 21st Street -- I guess all the headlights from the oncoming traffic on one-way westbound I Street made him think better of it. Yes, indeed, Maryland tags.
The bad part about the rain is that the new turf at my son's school can't be finished today. Our school's playground reconstruction has taken about a year and a half, which isn't bad at all when you consider we had to deal with DCPS, DC DOH, DC Parks and Rec, the local ANC, as well as a group of neighbors who tried to block the project because they didn't like the "sound of children screaming." Mind you, the playground was already there; we were just trying to make it safer and more appealling.
Anyway, the turf is one day from being complete, so I'm not as worried now as I was a week ago, when the turf hadn't been delivered yet after about a month of broken promises from the supplier. I'm looking forward to the kids having a whole playground to play on instead of half of one.
I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for anyone who complains about kids playing during school hours, especially when the fools bought an apartment across from a school that's been there since the nineteenth century, which I'm certain predates their tenancy.
6 comments:
You have to wonder about someone who would move next to a playground and then complain of noise. Same thing regarding the stories of people moving into Adams Morgan and not liking the late night racket from the bars.
As for children on a playground...I recently spent a day with my friend's two nieces, and it left me wanting more. I was thoroughly enchanted with them and hearing their perceptions on things. I feel like a sponge around children. You can learn so much.
Is it possible that they're complaining about the children because they want use of the swingset for themselves?
Ha! Get this: no swingsets...they apparently take up too much space. We have some pretty cool slides and climbing stuff though, all made by this company called Kompan. Some of their stuff looks more like modern sculpture than playground equipment, but the kids love it.
Actually what I'm thinking is that some people simply complain to complain...it's like their recreational activity.
Marylanders!
You know, they dont make playgrounds like they used to. The last time I tried to go down a slide I had to practically push myself the whole way. When I was a kid slides were greased lightening and you were launched four feet out. I knocked the wind out of myself on the playground minimun three times a week.
And the merry-go-rounds, cant get them spinning like a centrifuge anymore. Cant barely get them moving at all. How much fun is that? One year on the fourth of July and over zealous dad got one spinning so fast I flew six feet off and got a bloody nose.
I like the signs at playgrounds in San Fran that read "No Adults Allowed Unless Accompanied by Children."
Yes! Last time I was out there, I saw that. I think NYC also has those signs.
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