Yesterday, I had to run some errands near the neighborhood, and I happened to drive right past the crowd of people -- demonstrators and counter-demonstrators and police. There was shouting, but no huge drama, and the community seemed cohesive and joined in solidarity against racism and the misrepresentation of events in the media.
The strange thing is that, over 20 years ago when my husband and I were attending the very high school that all this commotion was taking place directly near by, there was an event that occurred between two students of differing races, which turned into an all-school brawl, and resulted in a brief school closure and a similar media labeling -- "racism," "riots," "community upheaval." News teams camped outside for days, but we in the community were bewildered -- it was a fight, a big nasty fight, but it wasn't a racist thing until the media made it one.
Today, on the same street, south by a few miles, there was a church-organized community Back-to-school Block Party. My older three kids and their friends performed twice and taught and entertained the attending children in between performances -- juggling, balancing, and other fun stuff.
News crews? Where were you today?
Beautiful baby.
Mr. Cellophane
Rola-bola!
Bigger Rola-bola!
Double-decker Rola-bola!
Super-size Rola-bola!
Volunteer-from-the-audience's mother looked slightly concerned at this
Crowd was small but enthralled
Multiple Rola-bolas!
Volunteerism can be scary.
Wanny vastly prefers watching them on DVD. Live performances are scary.
A skit, not a real lion
Sharing popcorn
A good day out but so hot!
Ta-Da!
Now for your and my mutual enjoyment, some pictures taken by the group while they were practicing.
I liked this picture, with Roks as the junior member of the group.
I like seeing him develop his strength and skills.
But my mamma-heart did a bit of a double-step when I saw this picture, taken outside, on the driveway. Had to put the ix-nay on this un-fay.
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