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Touching story
Jul. 9th, 2016 08:49 pmCountry Fair weekend, and there's a lot of empty spots at Market. No booths behind the stage at all, about half the food court is vacant. Doesn't help that the weather prediction is for clouds and showers, and setup is grey and spitting rain.
And then it gets better. Clouds gradually part, the sun appears, and all those people we we expecting last weekend? Here they are.
Seems to be about equally split between folks in athletic wear from the Olympic trials and folks in choir t-shirts and lanyards from the Bach festival. Lots of families with little kids, so I get a lot of opportunities to repeat the "Please Touch" mantra: Anyone can pet the pottery; only grownups can pick it up.
A couple with two little ones comes by. Papa is pushing a toddler in a stroller, Mama with a five-year old behind. She's telling him what's in each booth, and I realize he's blind. So I invite them into the booth, explain the pot-petting rule, and encourage her to lift down the elephant bank for him to "see." Next it's the stegosaur, and he fingers the spines, hunting for the slot, and I tell him that the head is on the end between his Mama's hands, so he explores that, sticking his finger in its mouth. It's biting me! he jokes. No, it's an herbivore, I say. It's licking your hand because it likes you.
What else is here? he asks Mama, and gets to pet a cat bank next. What else? He probably would have spent the rest of the morning exploring, but Papa and sibling were six booths ahead, so they had to move on. Mama thanked me, and I thanked her for taking the time to show him my work.
I can't imagine how sad and boring Market would seem if you only had it narrated to you. So much better to be able to explore it firsthand.
And then it gets better. Clouds gradually part, the sun appears, and all those people we we expecting last weekend? Here they are.
Seems to be about equally split between folks in athletic wear from the Olympic trials and folks in choir t-shirts and lanyards from the Bach festival. Lots of families with little kids, so I get a lot of opportunities to repeat the "Please Touch" mantra: Anyone can pet the pottery; only grownups can pick it up.
A couple with two little ones comes by. Papa is pushing a toddler in a stroller, Mama with a five-year old behind. She's telling him what's in each booth, and I realize he's blind. So I invite them into the booth, explain the pot-petting rule, and encourage her to lift down the elephant bank for him to "see." Next it's the stegosaur, and he fingers the spines, hunting for the slot, and I tell him that the head is on the end between his Mama's hands, so he explores that, sticking his finger in its mouth. It's biting me! he jokes. No, it's an herbivore, I say. It's licking your hand because it likes you.
What else is here? he asks Mama, and gets to pet a cat bank next. What else? He probably would have spent the rest of the morning exploring, but Papa and sibling were six booths ahead, so they had to move on. Mama thanked me, and I thanked her for taking the time to show him my work.
I can't imagine how sad and boring Market would seem if you only had it narrated to you. So much better to be able to explore it firsthand.