Kathleen invited me to this bbq last night that turned out to be an incredibly good time. It was at an apartment in Carroll Gardens, some friendly girls who I'd met before. This girl Pippa made a big pitcher of Sangria and since there was no cognac or anything, she added rum to it. Lots of rum. I brought a bottle of tequila, Charles and Kathleen brought turkey burgers for the grill and a case of Sierra Nevada. The burgers turned out magnificent. Needless to say, a merry time was had by all. These girls like a lot of latin music & they had a super cool deck jutting off the rooftop of their three story apartment that provided a fantastic view of both downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan. It was a beautiful night for a rooftop bbq. Some other people brought homemade guacamole and salsa. It was a full on fiesta. There was a lot of rambling stories and laughter. I did several impressions of horror movie characters, including the girl who climbs out of the television in the Ring and the zombies from Dawn of the Dead (the subjects of repeat nightmares). We talked about horror movies for about an hour. Seemed like the conversation never dulled. Everyone had a funny anecdote to share. Not one person seemed standoffish or grumpy.
I came home good and late...and sauced. When I woke up this morning with a faintly throbbing cranium, expecting to spend another hour in bed before getting up and putzing around the house and enjoying the gray, crappy weather that we always get to have on the weekends in NY, Rob asked me if I wanted to work a Heely's demo with him today. I gave in because I knew he could use the help and it's easy extra cash for me going to a sports store and showing little kids how to use these sneakers. If you've never heard of Heely's, they're a shoe that has one wheel in the heel of the sneaker and you can walk, run or roll at will simply by shifting your body weight. They're really fun. I love kids so it works well for me because I basically hang out with them and give them some pointers and hold their hands so they don't fall over the first time they try to roll on these things.
Sometimes the kids we meet are so much fun. One little girl today completely stole my heart. She was about four or five, walking through with her big brother and her daddy. The moment she saw the Heelys she looked up at me with the most humongous smile and the brightest eyes and said "I want them!" We didn't have a pair small enough to fit her. She was the tiniest little thing, but with a willpower much larger than her puny frame. She begged and begged. I said "sweetheart we don't really have them in your size. Maybe another year or two." She said "please! I want them." She held a drippy green and white ice cream on a stick. She had long shiny mussed brown hair, the most precious unibrow and legs like little q-tips sticking out of her shorts. She was so busy begging, that she forgot about her ice cream and it slid right off the stick, bounced off her clothes, her legs and her shoes, and onto the linoleum with a splat. She just looked down in helpless confusion, but looked right back up at me with that blazing smile. After cleaning up the ice cream mess, I couldn't say no to her anymore so I showed her the smallest pair we had, a size 2. She grabbed them from me and sat down on the floor and got them on her feet as fast as she could. I tied them up good and tight for her and she was ready to go.
Now I must say there are a few different kinds of kids when it comes to making an effort to learn something new (especially physically, in front of others). Learning to roll on Heelys is like learning to ride a bike but there are no training weels. Some kids, like this little girl, are incredibly willful and determined. They refuse to give up and they usually get the hang of it really quickly. Then there are kids who are embarassed to look dumb if they don't get it or just have generally low self confidence so they put in half as much effort and of course that's not very effective. They usually end up giving up without getting the hang of it. Then there are kids who are determined, but they just have no sense of balance or equilibrium yet, so no matter how hard they try they just can't seem to make it happen. Sometimes, I have to give up because after much coaching and reiteration, a particular kid just won't follow any instructions and basically does the exact opposite of what you tell them to do. Not precious unibrow. She was on her feet and I was holding her hands and within five seconds, she was rolling, leaning forward, legs locked, perfect equilibrium. She was ecstatic. She begged her father. He said no, no and no. She didn't give up. She said "pleeease!" and "I want them!" about two hundred times a piece. Not in a screaming crying tantrum fashion, but in the most girlishly persuasive manner and with a beaming smile always on her face.
Her father, in his heavy European accent, held his ground with successive "no, no and nos". He eventually hoisted her up on his shoulders and she proceeded to forcefully tug his hair up from the roots while bouncing on his shoulders and begging still for a pair of Heely's. I really felt for him. Her dad said "maybe this nice girl can babysit you, she seems to like you an awful lot." I couldn't help it. She made me laugh so much. She was incorrigible and unbelievably persistent. And still hilariously cute. Certain kids make my day. I really enjoy the times I work with Rob. It's fun to be a team and to spend time with all the different people. No pressure. Doesn't feel like work at all.
On the way back from Long Island we stopped at Kathleen's and had ice coffee and talked for a little while before finally coming home. I made toasty hot dog sandwiches and we were going to go see that movie "Saved," but got lazy at the last minute and now we've rejected the idea in favor of staying home. Rob got ahold of that book I'm reading, "Under the Banner of Heaven," and now he's planted on the couch with it firmly in his grip. He fully highjacked the book I was reading. It is riveting though. He has a fascination with religion so once he started reading this, he couldn't stop.
So I gave up trying to get the book back and have retired myself to cybertown. Sigh. ;o)
Posted by Maria at June 5, 2004 11:02 PM