Obama's speech tonight in Denver was incredible. It really blew me away. On the 45th anniversary of the "I Have a Dream" speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. The crowd in the stadium was unbelievable and amazing. If you didn't see or hear it, I've linked the text of the speech above.
Totally revamped tiny 1941 kitchen
Shout hooray!
Hug a cousin!
Rick, Taka, Kumi, Machi, Walt
Trying to get it together for a group photo with 9 kiddies.
Here's an article about her. I'd be so happy to see her family in the White House.
Watering the tomatoes
Full basket of strawberries
The lone cucumber
Then the Lexus,
We had a lot of fun. This is part of what I just love about summer. Being outside, getting all wet, exercising my arms, and enjoying the day with Maiya. Later that day, Tony was outside and our neighbor told him that he had seen "the girls" washing the cars. Then he said to Tony, "You're doing something right."
Eve, Grace, Marissa, Lauren and Maiya
The Happy Couple!
Sharing snacks and water with Daddy
Hector, Erika, Mr. & Mrs. Ayala watch the game
Grateful to be on the shady side of the reserve section
Jenni & Maiya posing a little
It's time to go home now!
After the bike ride, we left her with Uncle Bill, who had rented a Dora DVD for her. That kept her going for 6 hours while we went out to the Ford Amphitheater for the Tia Chucha Cultural Center fundraiser. Nobuko performed, as well as Charles Wright (Express Yourself), and we also got to see Olmeca and Upground. It was a pretty awesome night of performances. I think my favorite was Upground, a bunch of young guys from East Los, as they called it. I think someone told me that they all went to Roosevelt, where my mom went to high school in Boyle Heights. When we got back at 11:30 pm, Maiya and Uncle Bill were on the couch, still watching Dora, for the 3rd time that night. Say "Adios, Dora!"
Whew! We made it through Obon season. Including the Venice Community Center Carnival and counting Nishi's 2 days twice, we ended up going to obon 8 times this summer. Tony had suggested that we go to them all, but I think 8 is enough to make an impression on a 3 1/2 year old that these represent part of our JA culture, and part of our K-O family tradition to dance a little, play some games, and eat a lot.
Gardena was very crowded with very long lines. But, the booths were pretty efficient, and the long lines moved surprisingly fast. We got the teriyaki chicken bowl, which was small, but very good. Snow cones were just ok. Corn was pretty good. Tony enjoyed the beef, and Grandpa Larry got the sushi. For once, I didn't get chili and rice. I did stand in the longest line, which went out to the street, and that was the Dango booth, but I ran into an old friend Glenn, so catching up with him made the line go faster. Gardena was different in that it was in an actual residential neighborhood, and there were tons of families with babys and small children. No stage, but it was probably the longest street for dancing that we've seen and a huge outdoor bingo.
As I mentioned before, I do have a new appreciation for all the volunteer time that goes into running these events. I saw Gail, who we worked with on the Aloha Mural 10 years ago, working at 3 different food booths, Venice Carnival, Venice Buddhist Church, and West LA obon. That's some extreme dedication. And, from what I can see, there is enough young energy to continue obons into the future. Even for me, who's been going to obons for 15 years, I finally took my turn selling snow cones, and you'll see me out there again next year. It's been a great summer, catching up with old community friends, and joining to celebrate our ancestors with a modern day flair. Anyways, this ends my summer of obon observations, but I'll stop here with a little poem for my girl:
Here are Maiya at her best friend L's adoption party a few Sundays ago. Maiya and L have known each other since they were 9 months old and grew up together at their childcare. L left first to go to preschool, but we found that both Maiya and L would talk about each other constantly, so we have been doing occasional play dates since then at the park, and at their downtown loft, which we pass everyday on our way home from work. L and her sister (also) L were adopted by their 2 daddies recently and we were happy to go to their adoption celebration party. When J and B spoke at the party about their growing family (they are also foster parents for a 4 month old baby girl), it was such a touching and beautiful moment.
It was a hot Sunday afternoon with a warm breeze, and our only daytime obon. Many open in mid-late afternoon and peak around dinner time and during the bon odori dancing. Higashi, which has a terrific entertainment stage all weekend, started at noon and runs until nighttime. So, when we went, it was slow, mostly because it was hot and everyone was either indoors with the air conditioning, or under cover of the many easy-ups provided. So, it seemed very empty with no lines, which actually was great, since we didn't have to wait in any long lines.
I have to say, and Maiya might agree, that Higashi had by far the best snow cones of all the obons we've been to. They had the widest array of flavors, including things like Kiwi and Mango. Maiya walked up and ordered the "rainbow." The girl may not know many Disney characters, but she knows how to order a snow cone. I had a blueberry raspberry and mango, and it was fantastic. When Maiya's snow cone melted into a bowl of sticky purplish-black thick gooey liquid with parking lot dust, she put the bowl up to her face, drank it up and said, "Mommy, I drink like Japanese!"
We were there for the Hawaiian dancers, having missed the preschool kids performing, by just a few minutes. Here they are doing a Maori dance, which was featured in the movie, "The Whale Rider," according to the emcee. Later, when we were on the other side of the temple at the Farmer's Market, I got the most delicious cantaloupe ever for $1. I heard June Kuramoto playing koto on the loudspeaker and thought it was a CD, but then when we went back, I realized she was live up onstage playing so beautifully. Maiya was drawn to the music and we sat down right in front on the curb.
For a 3 year old, Obon is really about the games, which I think I've mentioned before. At 50 cents a pop, they definitely had the best games, with no lines. My only complaint, again, would be the use of candy as a consolation prize when the kid doesn't win a plastic prize. Maiya did pretty well at the tic-tac-toe softball toss, so look for her on a softball field in years to come. I did pick up a pretty delicious chicken teriyaki plate for Tony on the way home. All in all, a very enjoyable time. Less enjoyable was the post-obon hot summer meltdown that occurred on our way back to the cooler westside, just prior to a mama-welcomed car seat nap.
