yesterday afternoon I had plans to help my older son Dean with a school project
having stayed home with my younger son Grant allowed us to make this happen a few minutes earlier
there is a class assignment for the kids in Dean's class to choose two of four historic places on a list
visit those places
take a photo with themselves in it
then answer some questions and do a little report on the place
well... easy enough
in fact... it would make a great project if we could remove the parents from the equation
what a great way to educate the children and get them to learn about the city that they live in...
well... it could be a great way to learn about the city
but instead... I bet parents drive most of the kids around in post work traffic
angered... frustrated... unable to find a parking space
the assignment dictates that the child stands in the photo
my guess... frustrated parents would just take the photo themselves on their way home from work
removing the experiential learning
I considered having my son and some friends climb into an Uber
well... if bike riding were not an option
it was an easy cross town traverse
from Mount Pleasant we went down to Rock Creek Park and got on the bike path by the National Zoo
we rode our single speeds through the tunnel on the sidewalk
it is sketchy... but it is a skill
my son has skills on the bike... but I still worry about his losing focus and clipping his handlebar on the tile wall
bike path by the zoo then up the ramp into Georgetown by 28th Street
then sidewalks... the way car drivers drive... sidewalks in rush hour for a few blocks for a 13 year old boy
Dean passed off his cell phone and I snapped a series of photos
one from across the street
some shots of him talking with the ranger
then some shots from the interior as Dean played with the wooden toys of a bygone era
I tried to give Dean some space
my excuse... I had to watch the bikes
which was true
but I wanted Dean to take with the ranger, explore the Old Stone House, and read the plaques without my guiding ever step
I was already guiding every pedal stroke
no need to guide every foot step
as we finished up at the Old Stone House there were two young girls approaching the old building
I struck up conversation asking if they were from out of town
turns out the younger of the two was a student in Dean's school and they were doing the same project
they had selected the same two historic locations as we had
as we left the old stone house it was getting darker
which was fine... I thought we would approach the Jefferson Memorial in the dark
but to top things off... it started to rain
Dean was wearing his shell... my shell was in my back
we over spun our single speeds in the dark rain
aware that our blinking lights only made us slightly more than invisible
as we rode we talked
well... we talked when the "sight lines" were long enough for us to ride side by side
otherwise we were single file
we talked about a topic that was awkward to Dean and aggravating to me
Gummy Bear Guy and Obi Juan Chianti
who are these guys?
oh... those are the pseudonyms I created for the two boys who had assaulted my son on two different days this week
yes... my son was assaulted this week
not too serious... but serious enough
no need to go into detail
but after school on two different days my middle school age son was aggressively approached and then assaulted by a high school age kid
different kid on each day
somewhat similar scenario
neither event should have happened
either event could have been worse
nothing was stolen
no one was seriously hurt
but under no circumstance should a middle school boy be punched in the face or slammed up against a metro bus shelter by a high school age boy
the administration knows about one event, but not the other
police are on the case
I am curious to see how they prioritize this
this is unacceptable
I can not think about these two guys
trying to steal from my son
roughing my son up
oh man... it makes my blood boil... fills me with rage and hate
I hope that there is some resolve and this sort of behavior discontinues
a child should be safe in and around their school
high school kids should not be roughing up middle schoolers
well... they should not be roughing up anyone... but to play tough with kids so much younger?
fing pussies... and stupid enough to try and rob someone in the shadow of where they go to school
ignorant fools
should be easy enough for them to be located
it was a nice ride
I have offered to take Dean on a bike ride to make this photo project happen next month and the months to follow
hopefully our conversations will be more positive than our talks about Gummy Bear Guy and Obi Juan Chianti
