Grandma Camp officially started July 8, 2015. The Learning Activities took up most of the morning.
These activities consisted of beginning to learn the vocabulary words given out at Grieco's 1st Grade Orientation combined with completing some activities from workbooks neglected and left unfinished from 3rd grade and Pre-School. There were no objections, because later in the day there were planned bike riding lessons, swimming, jewelry making with pipe cleaners and beads, nature walks and city walks to anticipate.
I have lost 10 pds. already. The sagging pants are incentive enough for Grandma. Today was a lazy day. I allowed them the early morning hours while I worked on the computer. Rooms were cleaned and Grandma did not see pajamas. That was progress.
The Deer
We started out late on our City Walk. It was a little after 3:30 pm. We stopped at a neighbor's house and exchanged neighborly talk about deer, because one was feasting on grass only several hundred feet away from us. It did not scare even as the 6 year old threw pebbles at it. We noticed that the fur of this animal was not healthy. It looked sickly. So while they contemplate deer hunts at Flat Rock Brook Sanctuary, we witness the sick who are obviously not recognizing 2 adults and 2 children as a threat in broad daylight. It is actually posing for the camera. One of the pebbles hurled by the 6 year old sent it jaunting into the neighbor's rear yard where we did not follow. This was 3 houses away from me. So this walking tick magnet may be leaving lime disease on every brush and while spreading mange to all of it's family and friends.
The Speed Limit
We also had a short discussion of the increasing number of children on our block and the fact that there are some that we never see, because of the speeding automobiles that shake our homes on an hourly basis.
Behind that lush tree to the right of the photo below is the only sign on our block in Englewood that indicates the mandated speed limit of 25 mph. Cars coming down the hill from Teaneck almost always exceed that limit. They cannot see the sign.
A Teaneck youth who lived up the street from us
was killed on our street November 17, 1995. It was a tragedy that should have prompted petitions and demands of traffic calming measures on our street. The uproar did not last long. The City filled in the gully across our street a few hundred yards from my house and that was it. Everyone except his father, (who sued Englewood and Teaneck) forgot about Gary Douglass and seemed to tolerate the constant threat of a child being ran over by speeding cars coming down the hill from Teaneck. It should be noted that the sign is not even visible to the motorists coming down the
hill when there
are no leaves on the tree. One wonders what was in the mind of the person who planted the tree in that spot. He certainly was not thinking about the safety of the over 40 children on our street from Sunrise Terrace in Teaneck down to Mattlage Place in Englewood. We are thinking about those children. An adult told me at the 2015 DMHS graduation that she was nearly hit by a car on our street a few days before graduation. We have 65 names on our petition and the very thought that we are forced to work this hard to keep residents safe is demoralizing. A request demonstrating the need should be enough for the City to move forward with the installation of traffic calming devices on a street where there are so many children, including at least one autistic child.
Back to our City Walk. We armed ourselves with water and the asthma pump just in case. They were very excited to walk and run, especially after the confrontation with the deer. We could not avoid giving the little one the chance to spit. Every little boy dreams of spitting over the rail into sparkling water. Doesn't he? Getting the 2 of them away from the brook was no easy task. They were lured away by the promise of more and better sites on the City Walk.
The water appeared surprisingly clean. His spit bubbles were lost. There was not enough breath
in that little body to make the bubbles that he anticipated appear on the sparkling water below.
The graffiti was not deplorable. She wanted to know how she could draw there also. We had the
graffiti talk. She learned that graffiti is not always appreciated by the people who run the City or even the neighbors. The puzzled look on her face. Precious.
He wanted to know why I called our walk a City Walk since we were in the country. Strange how such a small woody area is considered a forest to the young. He wanted to know why there was
garbage in under the trees. He considered for a moment and suggested that the deer must not like that very much.
The concept of private property was explored after the walls of the City became obvious. Of course they wanted to walk all of them. He wanted to know why the people in the houses would not simply love the fact that children enjoyed walking on the walls they built. So why did they build walls instead of fences if not for walking? Out of the mouths of babes.
The Liberty School Fence is gone
. I noticed that last week. I could not answer that question either. The fence was very old and rather ratty looking and seemed to catch every single bit of garbage that flew into the yard and it remained there far too long. I had complained about the garbage more than once. I told them that the School was very old and was probably going to be removed. It is interesting that children this age have a problem grasping old as in historical. He wanted to know if Abraham Lincoln went to school there.
The Bench at the Liberty Pole offered a place to sit and rest. An option was given at that point. Do we continue up the street to the Library or do we go right to MacKay Park and the playground? He
wanted the Library. She wanted the Park. They shot for it. I asked him why he wanted the Library and he said that there were some wonderful books there about building things with legos. Figures.
He found the Liberty Pole very interesting and tried several times to climb it. We rested. She wanted to know what they did to the monument and I could not tell her. One of these days I will compare my before and after photos in order to determine the answer to that question. They did remember the Memorial Day Parade from this year and last and made the connection to the monument. That was something.
Family Day in the Park - We proceeded down Bennett Road where they remembered the hamburgers and sodas from Memorial Day. She remembered the tremendous tummy ache from drinking a Pepsi on an empty stomach. They avoided the poison ivy that is much too close to the sidewalk as we walked pass the Asian Market that we frequent to purchase juice oranges and great fresh vegetables. He thanked the crossing guard for getting us a hall pass to cross the street where we saw this sign. He noticed the word "Free" immediately and suggested that we could definitely go to this, because it would not cost grandma any money. She reminded him that the pool costs $10. He wants a tattoo first. I wondered why family day is planned for a day that restricts the attendance of many Englewood Residents, because it is their Sabbath.
When suggesting the Park, she had her mind set on doing some serious swinging. When last we visited this particular playground, there were no swings. We thought that was because the season was moving into winter. I guess the swings have been decommissioned. At least there were other children. They played with a group from Bergen Family Center, in which they recognized classmates from school. When the Bergen Family group left with their Counselor, they played for a time with the last child left, who was with her mom. We did not see any
auxiliary police on duty.
MacKay Park Pool - She had to go to the bathroom that is slated to be demolished as not needed and he wanted to go into the pool. That water feature had his attention. I reminded him that he was not wearing a swimsuit and did not have a towel. He did not think that was a problem at all. He gave up on the idea when she returned and reminded him that there were no other children and that she required the sun. His response to that. "underwear." Go figure. He is six.
The Benches - Did you ever try shopping with 2 small, inquisitive children. Don't. After the first store, we decided to window shop. They were advised to "look" only. Moving down the avenue, they insisted on sitting on each and every bench and looking at every thing as if to remember each detail forever. He liked the fact
that he could see the hospital from this bench.
He spent 4 and a half hours there on Monday after injecting himself with a teenager's epi pen. Long story that. Only he remembers it fondly.
The Rocks at the Beach - They treated this small rock filled area as if it was the beach. They talked about sea gulls and the waves and how the sandy beach was so beautiful. He said it was like Atlantic City without the water, but he could see it anyway. Yeah, I felt like I was being played. They were psyching me into taking them to Atlantic City again. They had to be ordered away from this spot. He tried to take a large rock with him. She was supposed to put it in her purse.
They took window shopping to a new level. We finally had to abandon that idea, The store owners did not seem to take kindly to them staring in. Perhaps the little fingers smudging the windows were also a factor. Perhaps they were anxious that they would actually enter.
They wanted to know if they could attend the "Block Party" on the 15th of July and I promised to think about it. She read the sign and wanted to go to the shows. He reads well enough to understand the words Family Fun. I remembered the critique a couple of friends had of the event last year. The Event is scheduled to take place again only East of the tracks. That, in itself is rather questionable to this old grandma.
I will keep my card in my purse, thank you very much.
We visited a popular store for some ice cream. He wanted Cartoon Network on the TV. She was satisfied with Jessie. The service was horrible. There was only one person on duty. She was capable and pleasant, but needed help. This one person worked the cash register, made the crepes and served the ice cream between trips to the rear of the store for supplies and whatever. Not a good look. I asked the lone person why she did not have any help. She simply stated the obvious that she was alone. I wondered why she was alone. I know of at least 3 DMHS graduates who have applied for summer work there. None of them have been called. At least one of them is a Member of the National Honor Society and wishes to make a career in the Food Management business. Odd.
Do the businesses on the East Side of the tracks employ DMHS graduates of color? Roving grandmas would like to know. Perhaps that is a question for Adam Brown of the Englewood Economic Development Corporation.
We proceeded down the other side of Palisade Avenue, headed West. They ate popcorn with Douglass Wilson, who was drawing in front of Starbuck's. They talked Art and ate popcorn together. They wanted to stay with Douglass, but the grandma was getting tired.
We turned down Dean Street where I noticed that Marcia's attic was having a 50 - 70% off sale. I have some strong words for Maricia that I will not write here. What kind of identity crisis is going on in that place? Perhaps one is transferred to the Hamptons when entering that store. I do not understand the draw. The gumball machine was interesting.
The prices were....ridiculous...And they have 2 locations. One on the West Side of the street and one on the East Side of the street.
We walked through Veteran's Memorial Park and crossed Van Brunt Street headed for ShopRite. After leaving Shoprite, where he got a $1.89 bottle of Dasani water, I noticed that a fence has been erected on the other side of the newly finished extra parking lot that Shoprite never seemed to need. I have always found a parking space when shopping there. Perhaps I just have great luck.
We ate at Wendy's and headed home. He wanted me to call someone to pick us up and take us home. He thought we had done enough walking. She was still enjoying our City Walk. He was not allowed to spit in the Brook again as we passed it again on the way home. We did not see any deer as we approached the house and he sang the FART song too many times. We were tired. It was a long day.
I found the flyer to the right in my mailbox. For once, I an not the one originating the literature. It is a good feeling knowing that others are concerned with the same issues.
