78th: Make no comparisons; and if any of the company be commended for any brave act of virtue, commend not another for the same. Yesterday's Entries 2000: The Sky is Falling CURRENTLY READING Trace
by Patricia Cornwell
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A BIT OF EXCITEMENT 11 November 2004 Sheila and I were at the dog park with two other dogs and their owners. Off in the distance I could hear the sound of a helicopter. Now a helicopter in this town is kind of unusual. Sometimes if there is some sort of search for a bad guy, there may be a helicopter search at night, but I could probably count on the fingers of one hand how often that has occurred in the past 30 years. So just the sound of the helicopter was unusual, but then it got closer and closer and pretty soon it was hovering right over the dog park. Was there a bad dog somewhere around? Had they figured out that I haven't gotten downtown to get Sheila's license yet? The helicopter passed by the dog park, but then circled back. It continued to make circles, each time getting lower and lower. Next thing I know, it disappeared below the line of trees on the hill behind the dog park and the noise stopped. Well, it's amazing how quickly all three of us in the park decided that our dogs had finished playing, put them on leash and sauntered up the hill. There, off in the distance, was the helicopter parked on the back side of the grammar school. All the children of the school were gathered on the concrete near the grass, and a police officer was addressing them with a bullhorn.
Apparently this was "police day" at North Davis Elementary School. I could hear the officers telling the kids to divide into three groups. One groups would get to investigate the helicopter, one group would get a demonstration by the police dogs, and one group would hear a talk about how to deal with strangers who might approach them. Then the groups would rotate, so that over the course of the day all the kids would get to all the things. Next the siren on the police car parked on the side of the school began to go off. Apparently they were letting the kids check out the siren. I sure hope they notified the residents in the neighborhood. To hear the sound, you'd think that there was a major police chase going on. In fact, I stopped by the library which backs up onto the school grounds and someone coming out of the library asked me about the siren. I pointed out that it was a school project and she looked very relieved.
Whenever I see things like this, professionals coming to visit a school to give a demonstration, I always think of that fateful day at Tiny Tots Nursery School in Oakland. (Yes, Char...you know what's coming, don't you!) One of the fathers was a dentist and we all decided it would be ever so cool if Dr. Daddy came to talk to the kids about how to keep their teeth clean. He also had the idea that it would be an opportunity to give the kids fluoride treatment, if the parents agreed. Naturally, all of us being concerned parents who wanted the best for our children, gave our agreement for Dr. Daddy to give each of our children a fluoride treatment. I'm a little fuzzy on exactly how the day went (for reasons which will become obvious very soon). But I assume that Dr. Daddy brought in a nice big ceramic tooth and showed them how to brush their teeth effectively. He probably also gave them a free toothbrush. And then he gave them the fluoride treatment. I don't know how--but nowadays when I go to my dentist she gives me a fluoride treatment which involves putting some nice berry flavored frothy stuff on the toothbrush and having me brush my teeth for a full minute. I'm thinking that maybe the treatment went something like that. Or maybe not. In any event, what Dr. Daddy didn't anticipate was that little nursery school kids tend to eat anything that goes into their mouths. If the kids were going to feel good about their fluoride treatment, the substance used was probably nicely flavored. We realized that maybe things were not going smoothly when the kids began vomiting. Apparently this is why you aren't supposed to swallow fluoride. It makes you puke. I swear, you'd have thought it was the playground in Jonestown. We had children bent over and vomiting all over the place. And of course, with 30 children vomiting everywhere, you can imagine the mess. And the smell. Mothers with weak stomachs may have vomited too. By the time the morning was finished, all fifty (or was it 30?) of the kids in the school had vomited and were being comforted by those of us who had the misfortune to have been assigned to work that day. Parents who had been called were pouring in the front gates to take their little sick darlings home. I don't remember Dr. Daddy volunteering to come in and show the kids how to brush their teeth again. And to this day I'm a little bit suspicious of fluoride treatments. I bring an airsick bag just in case. |
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
Graduation Day, Tiny Tots, 1971 - Jeri circled, on left
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Created 10/15/04
