Dog Fest and school funding

my mom was in town and i wanted to do something fun with her that was very san franciscan, so we went to the mckinley elementary school fundraiser in duboce park, dog fest.

this is the best school fundraiser on earth, with tons of fun booths to win prizes (maya especially got a big old pile of booty while miles chose mostly perishable sugar prizes), jumpy houses, art activities good food, so many old friends and acquaintances i felt i was looking through some kind of time machine telescope, and lots and lots of dogs. the emcee was hilarious, and talked his hilarious way through various dog contests such as owner matches dog contest, best lap dog contest, and best ears contest.

you hear a lot about buying local, keeping money in our country, etc., but this is the REAL new local economy. we spent about 25 bucks and had a very fun, tasty, and entertaining afternoon--and all that money went right back into funding a very nice public elementary school. this was one step up from the usual school fundraiser, which is a fun event that has either entertainment or an auction--you get something for your money, but it is mostly within one school community. this was people from lots of different communities, different schools, dog lovers, neighbors. this should just be going on every weekend somewhere in the city. i guess it kind of is.

this is the way it is going to be until some kind of miracle happens and there is more money for kids and education. i will not get started on the equity issue because sooner or later all schools will have ptas putting on dog fests, right? right?

anyway, i am procrastinating getting to the main point of this post. at the end of the day, after being surrounded by dogs for four hours, and with a LOT OF ENCOURAGEMENT FROM MY MOM, i was pulled, sleepwalker-like to the northern california family dog rescue booth, where, all kinda' dreamy-like i found myself holding a very small white dog, and then taking him on a walk, and then signing some foster papers, and then walking out of the park with the little dog, and bringing him home.

he was rescued from a shelter one day ago, and passed some kind of test proving he is kid-friendly, is neutered and has his shots. that is all i know. so there was a little furry stranger who needed a home, and now he is sleeping in the bunkbed with miles and maya.

did i mention my husband is in europe, touring with his band, and will be returning to this situation whether he likes it or not?

i explained to the kids that daddy and i may decide it is not a good idea to keep him, and that we are fostering him, and have not taken him home to keep, just to think about. uh-huh.

there is not rational way to decide to get a dog,at least if you are a busy, working, urban parent whose backyard is solid vegetable garden and whose kids are a bit loud and bonkers. but he is here, at least for now. and where to draw the line? who do we help and how do we decide? it is all mysterious. i hugged the rescue lady with tears in my eyes as i rushed off to the starr king fireballs soccer game (we won again--play bad news bear theme song in your head).

what do you think?

photos for daddy

this is pretty much photos for rich, who is touring europe with his band carlton melton for almost a month. he is living the high life in europe, staying in castles, being fed gourmet dinners and fine wine, not doing dishes or laundry or homework help. but look what he is missing!

we survived out first trip to disneyland. it was a fine road trip with our friends nancy and angus. nancy and i blasted satellite radio rock and roll on the rented mini-van stereo and reminisced about our long-ago childhoods. disneyland was hot with long lines but not horrendous, and chock full of glorious people watching opportunities. lots of 'mericans and many tantrumming children in the happiest place on earth.

here are the kids with some pirate bling on huck finn's island.

and here is maya, who had a very crummy cold but who rode big thunder rollercoaster twice anyway, as minnie the bride.

back to the city we were lucky enough to stumble upon the caesar chavez day celebration on 24th street this weekend as we walked back from dance class. some kids in miles' class marched by in the parade as well as many upbeat labor union members.

cowboys who were actually carpenters rode these lovely horses through the mission. i love this picture, taken through some flowers which are part of the extensive sidewalk-scaping around 23rd and harrison streets.

and yesterday we were treated to a fantastic bike ride at sunday streets on the great highway. we arrived early and scored free rentals on bikes, one for miles and a bike with a kid's extension bike on the back for maya and i.

things are a little scary lately with earthquakes and the horrible california budget situation. hard not to think in terms of apocalypse, and disappearing to farm some land and become a survivalist in alaska. but look at this place! the great highway closed down, we rode our bikes south for a while and then turned around. we stopped at this activity area run by a group of teenagers in a group whose name i sadly can't recall. they were smart and nice and gave the kids books and brownies for participating in bean bag tosses and twister games. they all went to sf high schools, public i think, and their group raises funds and travels to other countries to build schools for kids who need them. some of the kids had just returned from a trip to help build a school in bali and they were now collecting funds to build a school in haiti. i made sure miles noticed how cool and awesome they all were.

there were remains of a ship sunk long ago poking out of the sand where ortega meets the beach. we pedaled right by it, maya saying "this is great, i love this day."

look at that blue sky. things are bad but could be worse. ride a bike, grab a hula hoop. build a school.