Pioneers and Picnics
“Good morning!” greeted mom, waking
her children from their night’s sleep early in the morning, “Time to get up and
ready to go.”
The kids sprang out of bed, had
their clothes on, teeth brushed, and were finished with their breakfast in
record time. When there was something exciting to do they could be ready rather
fast.
“I talked to Mr. Brown and we are
going to pick him up on the way,” dad informed his family.
“Let’s go,” mom said, loading the
final picnic items into the back of their seven-passenger SUV.
“Can I sit in the far back with Mr.
Brown?” questioned Kelly.
“Well, I think it is better for Mr.
Brown to sit in the front with me, Kell,” dad replied, “He is not as young and
agile as you are, I’m afraid.”
“Ok, I didn’t think about that.”
Mom offered to sit in the back and
Rebecca said, “I’ll sit with you mom, that way Rob and Kell can be closer to
the front seat to visit with Mr. Brown and I can visit with you.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Dad phoned Uncle Kevin and Aunt Sara
to let them know they were on their way. Uncle Kevin relayed to them that they
would be leaving shortly and that Cadet Connors would be riding with them. He
also made a call to his work partner, Suzie Chow, to confirm the details of
their meeting location at the entrance of the Japanese Tea Garden.
Once the family had picked up
Zekenia Brown, they were on their way.
Seeing the City from the Bay Bridge
dad remarked, “Looks like another good weather day.”
“Sure does,” replied Mr. Brown.
As they approached Yerba Buena
Island dad said to everyone as sort of a joke, “Look, to the right, that’s
Treasure Island. I wonder if any Pirates ever buried any treasure there.”
“Dad,” Kelly replied, fully knowing
he was joking, “Treasure Island is a man-made island constructed for the Golden
Gate International Exposition of 1939.”
“Oh, I guess you’re correct, Kell.”
“I was there when I was about twelve
years old,” Mr. Brown commented proudly.
“Wow,” replied Robert, “That was so
long ago.”
“It was held from February to
October that year, but I don’t quite recall when my family went exactly. It was
a lot of fun though.”
“Do you remember a lot about it, Mr.
Brown?” questioned Rebecca.
“No, not too many details, but I do
recall a Phoenix that was on top of a Tower. It seemed so high up at the time.
Everything seemed larger when I was young. And,” he took a deep breath, “I also
remember a lot of good things to eat.”
“What is a Phoenix?” asked Robert.
“Oh, it was a mythical bird that
died in flames and then was reborn from those ashes. However, the original
legend and ancient drawings relate a story of a leathery looking creature with
a long head crest flying over the desert. One story says some Native American
tribe members out hunting saw one struck by lightning. After a very long ride,
they found the creature dead. They created the Phoenix drawings based on the
creature, but now it is drawn more like a bird with feathers.”
“Sounds like the pterosaur called
Pteranodon,” interjected Kelly.
“That is exactly correct, young
lady,” Mr. Brown replied, amazed at how knowledgeable the young girl was.
“Renaissance scientist Pierre Belon
made drawings of creatures like this and the historian Herodotus, around 450
B.C., related many stories of them living throughout Egypt and Arabia. The
Jewish historian Josephus also mentioned,” Kelly continued, “and they have been
observed and filmed on video in recent years around Papua New Guinea and
Queensland, Australia.”
“My,” Mr. Brown said, “You have done
your homework.”
“The study of unknown, or rather hidden,
creatures is known as cryptozoology, Mr. Brown,” stated Kelly enthusiastically,
“It can be a very interesting topic at times.”
Taking Fell Street toward Golden
Gate Park they decided to take a quick detour, turning right on Steiner Street
and going over a couple of blocks to Alamo Square to see the historic and
popular houses known as the Painted Ladies. Once they passed the Conservatory
of Flowers, it was only a minute or so before they arrived at their final
destination, the De Young Museum and the Steinhart Aquarium area near the
Japanese Tea Garden. The kids loved to visit the Tea Garden and walk, or rather
climb, over the arched Moon Bridge, which was also referred to as the Drum
Bridge. The whole area, including the museum and aquarium, were recently
rebuilt.
“Look,” Kelly said, pointing, “There
is Suzie Chow by the front of the Tea Garden.”
“She sees us,” Rebecca said, waving
her hand.
After parking, the group walked over
to join Suzie and wait for Uncle Kevin’s family, Jim Connors and Suzie’s parents
to arrive.
Mrs. Dance greeted her husband’s
coworker, “Good morning, Suzie.”
“Good morning to all of you and
thank you so much for having my family join you today. My mother and father
will be coming shortly. They went for a short walk.”
Mr. Dance addressed his friend,
“Suzie, this is our neighbor from down the street, Mr. Zekenia Brown.”
“Glad to meet you, sir.”
“And it is very nice to meet you,
young lady.”
“Thank you, Mr. Brown; it’s nice to
be seen as a young lady again.”
“Everyone seems younger to me,” he
laughed, “and call me Zekenia if you like.”
“I will do that, Zekenia.”
“Is that Uncle Kevin’s car? No,
never mind,” said a disappointed Kelly.
“It’s still a tad bit early,” mom
declared, “Have patience, my dear.”
“I will, but I am so excited. I can
hardly wait.”
“Me too,” Robert added, “I can
hardly wait to eat some chips!”
Everyone laughed, understanding
Robert’s obvious enjoyment of the fringe benefits associated with picnics and
family outings.
“There are my parents now,” Suzie
pointed, seeing them approaching in the distance.
As Kelly ran to greet them, Robert
followed closely behind. Kelly stumbled and almost fell to the ground and
Robert, in his comically sarcastic way said, “You have the gracefulness of a
Ballerina.”
“Ha, ha,” she responded, “Very
funny.”
Kelly arrived first and greeted
Suzie’s parents, “Hello Mr. and Mrs. Chow, I am Kelly Dance. My father is
Suzie’s coworker, Jonothan.”
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Chow,” Robert
greeted the couple respectfully.
“So happy to meet you both,” they
replied, “I am Cheng Long and this is my wife Lin Wen.”
“Our sister, Rebecca, is over there
with everybody else.”
They joined the gathered group of
family and friends near the Tea Garden’s entrance just as they heard a car’s
horn honking.
Kelly exclaimed, “It’s Uncle Kevin
and Aunt Sara,”
“And I saw Cadet Jim Connors and
little Philip in the backseat,” observed Robert.
“Now all we need is for Uncle Jim to
get here,” commented Rebecca.
“I’m sure he will be here soon,
kids,” remarked mom.
After a few minutes and while
everyone was getting acquainted and introduced to each other, Mr. Dance’s cell
phone rang. He informed the group that it was his brother, Jim, and that he
will be joining them in about half an hour or so. While Mr. Dance conversed,
the rest of the party decided to take a quick tour of the Tea Garden while they
waited. Mr. Dance let his brother know that they would be inside the Tea Garden
and to ‘hang tight’ if they were not out front when he arrived.
“We will all meet back at the
entrance in forty minutes,” says Mrs. Dance to everyone, “About nine-fifteen,
OK?”
“Yes, mom,” the kids replied,
running off to explore the beautiful garden.
Normally one can spend hours upon
hours in the garden surveying the beauty of the surroundings and enjoying the
tranquility of the nature. Of course, children tend to enjoy climbing over the
arched bridge, watching the ducks and Koi at the main pond, checking out the
9nine thousand pound Lantern of Peace, or just simply scampering around looking
at the many dwarf trees throughout the complex.
“I made it,” Kelly said as she
passed the seventh step, reaching the top of the Moon Bridge.
“Great, Kell,” congratulated Robert,
“Now that you are bigger and older it isn’t so scary is it?”
“Not at all, it is rather fun. Now I
will see if it is as fun going down.”
“Can you guys help Philip get over?”
“Yes, but I think he wants to manage
this on his own.”
Robert, their cousin Philip and
Rebecca followed Kelly over the bridge to the other side. Once securely on
solid ground again they continued with their exploration of the garden.
Suzie and her parents were enjoying
a pleasant stroll with the other adults. They all enjoyed taking in as much of
the feeling of the place as they could. It was such a unique environment to
experience.
“Did you know that the creator of
this garden, Makoto Hagiwara, is said to have invented the fortune cookie here
in 1909?” Mr. Brown questioned the group, “and then another individual from Los
Angeles claimed to invent it nine years later.”
“Yes, I have heard that,” commented
Mr. Chow.
“The cookie is a true California
invention either way,” Mrs. Chow said, joining the conversation.
“But the idea is allegedly based on
something a Chinese revolutionary did around the fourteenth century with
Mooncake pastries,” asserted Mr. Chow, “Instead of the typical salted duck egg
yolks inside of them, he put messages to smuggle past the invading Mongols. The
Mongols did not like the egg yolks in the Mooncakes, so the plan worked very
well and led to the beginning of the Ming Dynasty.”
“Intriguing,” Jonothan Dance
remarked, “It is amazing just how much historical information can enrich your
life. I would’ve never known about the origin of fortune cookies if you hadn’t
brought up the topic.”
“I would never have even guessed that
in a million years,” Cadet Connors added.
“Working folk just don’t always have
the time we elderly folks have to explore the wonders of our world’s history,”
said Mr. Brown.
“But, we can learn some of it little
by little I suppose,” Mrs. Dance stated.
Kevin added, “Time is the key. If
something is important enough we can make time for it.”
“I agree with you dear,” Sara said,
supporting her husband.
“Anyway,” Jonothan addressed the
group, “We’d better head toward the front entrance.”
“Is it that time already?” mom said,
knowing the answer and expecting no response.
The children were the first to
arrive at the entrance. They raced to see who would get there first and Rebecca
won.
“That was fun,” little Philip said
to the older kids.
“You ran so fast, Philip,” Robert
encouraged the young boy.
“I know.”
Upon exiting the Tea Garden, Kelly
noticed a strange looking dog. It looked like a mop with four legs. An elderly
woman had the dog on a leash, so Kelly approached to see the animal close up.
“Excuse me, Ma’am,” Kelly addressed
the woman, “What breed of dog is that? I have never seen one quite like this
before.”
“Oh, good morning, young lady,” she
replied, “He is a Puli, a type of sheepdog.”
“He is so cute,” Kelly said,
reaching down to pet the dog, “Is it hard to keep his fur coat looking so
nice?”
“No, I take him to a salon once a
week.”
It was obvious from the way the
woman was dressed that she was financially well off.
“Where did this breed come from?”
“It is generally believed that
nomadic peoples brought them to Hungary around the ninth century.”
“What is its name?”
“Robi.”
“Hello, little Robi,” Kelly said to
the dog.
Robert, Rebecca and Philip soon
joined Kelly to see the dog. The rest of the group, still inside the Tea
Garden, was finding their way to the entrance.
“I like your dog, Ma’am,” Philip
said politely.
“Thank you, young man.”
“We’d better go now,” Kelly said,
“We are having a family picnic today.”
“How wonderful,” the woman
commented, “I have always enjoyed family get-togethers, especially when I was a
young girl.”
“We are going to the Pioneer Log
Cabin picnic area,” Kelly added, pointing down to the end of the street, she
continued, “Right around the corner there.”
“I enjoy that area very much,”
replied the woman, “and so does Robi. There are so many different species of
birds there.”
“That is why I also like it so
much,” Rebecca interjected, though she does not like pigeons very much.
“I like birdies,” Philip stated
confidently.
“They are rather cute, young man,”
the woman responded to Philip directly, “Just like you.”
Philip, being a bit shy with
strangers, did not quite know how to reply to her comment.
“Stow Lake, across the road from the
Pioneer Log Cabin, is also very nice,” Robert commented.
Robert liked it when his family
rented a small boat and paddled around on the lake all day seeing how many
times they could circle Strawberry Hill Island in the middle.
“It is a lovely place,” said the
woman, “I take my little fellow there for walks frequently. In fact, I will
pass it later, on the way back from our walk.”
“We will say hello if we see you,
Ma’am,” promised Rebecca.
“And I will say hi to your dog,”
added Philip.
“You are such a mature young man,”
the woman replied, “You must be ten or eleven years old I’m guessing.”
“I am only nine, Ma’am,” Philip
answered proudly.
The woman knew it was always better
to guess children’s ages older than they looked. It made them feel good, but
just the opposite is true once you have traveled well past middle age as an
adult.
“Bye, Ma’am,” the children said, walking
off toward the Tea Garden’s entrance.
“Was that a cute little dog over
there?” Kevin questioned the group. He could see that there was some type of
animal in the distance.
“Yes, a dog,” answered Philip.
“What kind of dog was it, Philip?”
Sara addressed her son.
“A, Pu... Puli, I think that’s what
she said to Kelly.”
“Yes, that’s correct,” Kelly
confirmed, “and his name was Robi.”
“That is a Hungarian name,” Cadet
Connors said, “We have a police officer in our class whose heritage is
Hungarian and his name is also Robi. He told us he’s named after a relative
back from his parents’ homeland.”
“There’s Uncle Jim,” mom said to
everyone.
Uncle Jim was approaching from
across the road. It was easy for him to find his family with so many familiar
faces in the group.
“Hi, Uncle Jim,” Kelly said to her
uncle.
“Good day to all of you,” he
replied.
“This is our neighbor, Zekenia
Brown,” Jonothan said, as he began to introduce everyone, “and you know
Felicity’s sister and husband, Kevin and Sara, and their son, Philip. This is
my partner, Suzie, and her parents, Cheng Long and his wife Lin Wen Chow, and
this is another of our friends, police Cadet Jim Connors.”
“Quite a good sized crowd for a
picnic,” Uncle Jim remarked.
“Our local book store owner, George
Walkinhawk, and his father Samuel Chocote Walkinhawk, may also join us later
the kids tell me.”
“The more the merrier,” Mr. Brown
said, since he has always enjoyed meeting new people.
“Why don’t I grab our things from
the SUV,” Jonothan said to the group, “We can meet at the front of the Pioneer
Log Cabin itself.”
Uncle Jim responded, “Great idea.
And the rest can head over there now.”
“Robert, maybe you can help with our
things,” his dad suggested.
“Yes, dad.”
“Is there anything I can help with?”
questioned Cadet Connors.
“Sure, come with us,” Jonothan
answered.
Suzie politely said, “Maybe I can
help you, Jim,”
“I would like that.”
“Felicity and I will show everyone
else the way,” informed Aunt Sara.
Mr. Dance, Robert and Cadet Connors
headed off to the Dance’s SUV retrieving the food and drinks while Jonothan’s
brother departed with Suzie to gather some items from his car.
The idea of having James Darrell Dance
and Suzie Chow get acquainted was working out as planned. The two appeared to
be enjoying themselves while retrieving some items and an ice chest from James’
car.
Next Chapter
Chapter Thirteen: Birds, Bugs and Barbecues
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