Sunday, September 02, 2007

Block Party

I took the kids to a good old-fashioned block party this weekend, just
down the street from us. The kind of thing you see in the movies or
that Will Smith rapped about in "Summertime": kids biking and
scootering around, music blaring, and multiple stations of delicious
food. With the street blocked off to traffic and emptied of cars,
there was plenty of room to socialize. Michael Nutter, future mayor
of Philadelphia, even stopped by.

I know a handful of the residents on this block, so I touched base
with them and also said hi to a few others from the larger
neighborhood who, like us, were mooching in on the fun. I also met a
guy who writes speech for a US senator. Meanwhile, Aaron took the
spectacle in from his stroller seat, and Jada was busy pounding the
fried plantains and releasing the helium balloons into the air.

I'm not sure if a party like that would work on our block, as there
are way too many renters vs. owners. So it was nice to just slide a
few hundred feet to the south and partake of someone else's communal
fun. Now, who else is having something like this that I can horn in
on?

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