1282 'Nother Pen-Pal Picnic

Monday, June 4, 2007

I went to another pen-pal picnic today. At last Friday's picnic, the organizer mentioned that something like fifteen of the forty-some senior pen pals wouldn't be able to make it to this group's picnic, mostly due to illness, so she needed volunteers to substitute. I volunteered.

Again, this is a program where elementary school kids and senior citizens write to each other over the school year, as part of the children's composition classes. Home addresses, photographs, and last names are not traded - all letters go through the program.

The kids are terribly disappointed when their pen pal doesn't show up at the picnic. They often have little handmade gifts for them, and are looking forward to finally meeting them. When the senior doesn't show, it's like a rejection. What bothers me is that the organizers don't screen the seniors. I think that the ability to attend the picnic should be a criteria. When you assign a kid a senior who's bedridden or house-bound, it's a boon to the senior, but guarantees disappointment to the child. It stinks. Just my opinion. There are several ways that could be handled better.

Anyway, I got assigned two nine-year-olds today, a sweet and pretty girl whose mouth runneth over (I not only know the sleeping arrangements in their house, and the names of her cats, but also the names of all ten kittens and who adopted each of them), and a boy who didn't stop running (thank goodness he was wearing a bright yellow shirt, so I could spot him).

It was 62 degrees and pouring cold rain the whole time. Luckily we had a huge tent canopy. Some of the kids had jackets, but my boy (and several others) was dressed in a short-sleeved T-shirt and shorts. He wouldn't stay under the tent and kept running around in the rain. I quickly gave up trying to corral him, and just hoped the running would keep him warm.

The picnic was at the Snyder Estate, and we got to tour the Widow Jane Mine and learned about the local cement industry at the Cement Industry Museum, followed by the usual hot dogs, bagged carbohydrates, Koolaid, and ice cream.

This bunch of kids seemed much younger, less sophisticated, than Friday's group. Their conversation and the way they related to each other seemed more naive. Friday's kids were from a school in the city (the very small city) of Kingston. These kids were from a village a few miles south of Kingston.

There was one girl who blew my mind, though. I have to wonder if her mother saw her go out the door. She was wearing a strappy top with sequins across the top and three tiers of long fringe, more suitable to clubbing than a school picnic. And lipstick. She's nine!

Oh, well. I guess every class has one.
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