Thursday, September 4, 2008

So that's why I pay taxes ...

I picked Ian up from school at 1 p.m. today, wary of the heat -- which probably hit the mid-90s F here in South San Francisco and 100 elsewhere in the Bay Area. I say "wary" because I promised Ian a trip to the park if I got a good report from his teacher today (which I did).

Driving back from Pacifica, I asked Ian if he wanted to go to the "inside park" (the well air-conditioned indoor playground at the nearby Tanforan Shopping Center) or another park. Ian insisted multiple times on Orange Park -- the largest local park. Orange Park was no doubt the choice due to the fact an ice cream truck circles the playground every half hour.

With sunstroke worries on the mind, we drove to the park and got out. As the oppressive heat hit me, I prepared to tell Ian (the only kid at the playground) that we would only stay for 10 minutes. No sooner do I open my mouth, however, do I notice that the sprinklers are on at the adjacent athletic field! Well, as you can guess, we both made a beeline for the grass and were soaked (fully clothed) within seconds. We ended up staying for about 20 minutes, laughing and sliding on the grass, before we went to the blessedly air conditioned library a few blocks away. (It was so hot that we were almost dry when we got there.) Sadly, for once, I didn't have a camera with me.

Now, normally I'd be the crotchedy old man and complain to the city that one shouldn't water the lawn at the hottest time of the hottest day we've had in a while, especially in a time of drought (evaporation and all). But why do my tax monies go to parks? For recreational purposes, and we sure did "recreate" today. Tax dollars well spent.

Darn kid needed a shower, anyway.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

lol!!!