Well I didn't plan it that way, but that's what ended up happening. Yesterday was "A Day for Creative Women" at the Mission in my town. The community counseling center where I did my Masters practicum had a booth there, so I went down to help out and had a nice afternoon walking around downtown with my friend, D, who was also at the booth. I stopped at a booth for the Commission on the Status of Women and filled out a survey, which resulted in being entered in a lottery for a bag of goodies from Trader Joe's. I promptly forgot all about it and was mightily surprised to find a message on my answering machine when I got home saying I'd won!!! Unfortunately by then I was home, 20 miles away, and it was after 7pm.
So today I met a woman from the commission in town to pick up my prize only to discover that today is the annual bicycle race that takes place downtown. Thanks to all the streets being closed Gus got his first drive in a parking garage and his first elevator experience, complete with a glass window, which he found thrilling, based on his neck length and the degree of eyeball protuberance.
We met on the steps of the Mission and the race went right through the plaza so we sat and watched. Gus was hysterical. When the first bike came through he'd say, "HEY!!!" and then as the main pack went by he let loose a wild fanfare with whistles and war whoops; all stuff usually reserved for AR when he gets home from work. Did he know somehow that AR used to be an avid cyclist before he (Gus) came to us?Anyway, it's a relatively short loop so they went by every five minutes or so and Gus went off like clockwork every single time.
The poor bird must have sat on the fingers and forearms of 50 children today, not to mention we had the surreal experience of being caught in the swirl of a tour group from Asia. It felt as if like the paparazzi had gotten hold of us! First it was just one couple asking if they could have a picture of their little son with Gus, but then all at once hoards of Asian people with cameras materialized from nowhere and digital cameras were beeping and buzzing like some sort of alien invasion. Sheesh! I'm sure American tourists have their signature behaviors that other cultures laugh about, so no offense intended. Oh, and I cannot count how many times I heard the question, "Is that a REAL parrot?"
We sat at an outdoor eatery where there is always live music, and watched a group of folk singers and Gus bwanged and twanged along with them. We didn't eat though, and I was over the moon when I got home and dug through my prize bag. WOW! There was like $65 worth of groceries in there; all pricey stuff I can't generally afford. So we had flat bread with green olive tapnade and Pad Thai noodles with sauce. Then for dessert we got to choose from dark chocolate almond bark and delicate little almond crisp cookies. There is much more; Southwestern style corn chowder, salsa, garlic basil linguine pasta, Alfredo sauce, giant, pimento-stuffed green olives, gourmet coffee beans, and granola cereal with almonds, cashews and cranberries. GOOD SHIT!!!
BTW, as I look at the website for the Mission I see that their stated mission is:
“To make our Vision a Daily Reality”……..by being:
Loving and Open
Faith-filled and Faithful
Prayerful
Gracious Stewards
Passionate about the Needs of Others
That is, of course, completely in keeping with the fact that they got rid of their soup kitchen five years ago and arrest anyone who looks even faintly like a bum if s/he sits too close. Filthy beggars were ruining the tourist trade...
So today I met a woman from the commission in town to pick up my prize only to discover that today is the annual bicycle race that takes place downtown. Thanks to all the streets being closed Gus got his first drive in a parking garage and his first elevator experience, complete with a glass window, which he found thrilling, based on his neck length and the degree of eyeball protuberance.
We met on the steps of the Mission and the race went right through the plaza so we sat and watched. Gus was hysterical. When the first bike came through he'd say, "HEY!!!" and then as the main pack went by he let loose a wild fanfare with whistles and war whoops; all stuff usually reserved for AR when he gets home from work. Did he know somehow that AR used to be an avid cyclist before he (Gus) came to us?Anyway, it's a relatively short loop so they went by every five minutes or so and Gus went off like clockwork every single time.
The poor bird must have sat on the fingers and forearms of 50 children today, not to mention we had the surreal experience of being caught in the swirl of a tour group from Asia. It felt as if like the paparazzi had gotten hold of us! First it was just one couple asking if they could have a picture of their little son with Gus, but then all at once hoards of Asian people with cameras materialized from nowhere and digital cameras were beeping and buzzing like some sort of alien invasion. Sheesh! I'm sure American tourists have their signature behaviors that other cultures laugh about, so no offense intended. Oh, and I cannot count how many times I heard the question, "Is that a REAL parrot?"
We sat at an outdoor eatery where there is always live music, and watched a group of folk singers and Gus bwanged and twanged along with them. We didn't eat though, and I was over the moon when I got home and dug through my prize bag. WOW! There was like $65 worth of groceries in there; all pricey stuff I can't generally afford. So we had flat bread with green olive tapnade and Pad Thai noodles with sauce. Then for dessert we got to choose from dark chocolate almond bark and delicate little almond crisp cookies. There is much more; Southwestern style corn chowder, salsa, garlic basil linguine pasta, Alfredo sauce, giant, pimento-stuffed green olives, gourmet coffee beans, and granola cereal with almonds, cashews and cranberries. GOOD SHIT!!!
BTW, as I look at the website for the Mission I see that their stated mission is:
“To make our Vision a Daily Reality”……..by being:
Loving and Open
Faith-filled and Faithful
Prayerful
Gracious Stewards
Passionate about the Needs of Others
That is, of course, completely in keeping with the fact that they got rid of their soup kitchen five years ago and arrest anyone who looks even faintly like a bum if s/he sits too close. Filthy beggars were ruining the tourist trade...
5 comments:
It sounds like you had a great time and what a wonderful prize gift.
A lot goes on around where I live, but I've been so stressed about school that I haven't gone to anything.
Glad you had a good time.
Congrats on the prize...goodies from TJ's! You can't beat that :) It sounded like Gus had a great time on his adventure into town.
Interesting to see the Mission's mission statement. Not so true anymore, is it? God forbid the homeless hang around the Mission and scare the tourists off. I've noticed there are less and less of them in the downtown area. Wasn't there a new rule made about the length of time someone could sit on a bench because of the homeless?
Thats awesome you won something! I like to win stuff. :D Gus sounds like a celeb!! lol You should start charging money to have pictures taken with him. ;)
The mission statement-yeah- the amount of hypocrisy in america astounds me. Rules on the length of time one can sit on a bench?
Shameful.
Yep Donna, I believe that's true. Not sure what the minimum time is, but I believe it depends on what you look like. =< Homeless people, and anyone else who stinks too much, are also not allowed in the public library anymore. Remind me to look up the definition of 'public' again, I think I must have misread it the first time...
Daily dose... please say the words SELF CARE three times in a row and then go do/watch something interesting in your area, kay? =P Life goes by way too fast not to notice the flowers. (this is as much to myself as to you, b/c I don't partake of our lovely community anywhere near as much as I should)
Hmm... s-girl, you are not the first person to suggest Gus charge for his photos. If our finances keep slipping away as fast as they have been (and this upcoming APA meeting in San Francisco is NOT going to help) then perhaps I'll have to take him into the Chamber of Commerce and see about a business license for him! :)
Oh, that's right, APA is coming up fast! I hope you have a great time there...I didn't even think about going. I don't know how I forgot about it, with all the APA stuff coming in the mail lately!
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