Stand up next to you

One of my favorite annual Downey events is the Memorial Day Ceremony at the Downey Cemetery. The format stays the same from year to year, but some things do change. I love to see the veterans standing up to be recognized, although the number of WWII vets has declined considerably since I started coming. I love the 21-gun salute, which was missing this year. I love the speeches and the melancholy sound of Taps at the end of the ceremony. And every year, I love watching the kids from local schools perform.

This year, kids from my alma mater Spencer Elementary School performed one of my favorites, "God Bless the USA".

And I'd gladly stand up next to you
And defend Her still today
'Cause there ain't no doubt
I love this land
God Bless the U.S.A.

These kids are standing proud, together with each other and with us, to support our veterans and our country. 

God bless the USA!

National Night Out

Back in August, Downey celebrated National Night Out with a variety of activities at the Civic Center. This was the first National Night Out for the Downey Police Department’s mounted unit, which is overseen by Captain Mark McDaniel and Detective Paul Hernandez. Mark and Paul, along with their equine partners “Captain” and “Coqueta,” posed patiently for me.

In actual practice, Captain and Coqueta don't actually do much policing. They get to come out for events like this, where they are admired and patted by both adults and kids.

In another area, the Downey Police Explorers fingerprinted kids for a National Child ID kit. Nearby, a Downey motorcycle officer showed a young girl how to use a radar gun to determine if a driver is speeding. Lots of other activities and freebies made this a fun night for Downey families.

Kids' Workshop

It is September and we are back!

I love that Home Depot has Kids' Workshops every month. This month I happened upon the projects in action.

Take me out to the ball game

It is baseball season and evening at Rio San Gabriel Park is brightly lit for a local ball game.

A group of small boys had their own game off to the side.

"We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing."

Sailing for the little ones

This is the fountain of the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris, France. Every day, small sailboats are put in the water for children to play with. There is usually a good breeze to keep the sails full.



Children have sticks that are provided to capture ships that come close to their spot. They use the sticks also to push the ships out to sea again. They then travel wherever the wind caries them. There are enough children around the fountain that someone will continue the process again.

The greatest generations

The "greatest generation," a term popularized by the book of the same name by Tom Brokaw, is often used to refer to those who came of age during World War II. But those men and women are certainly not the only generation in attendance at this year's Memorial Day Ceremony at the Downey Cemetery.

One part of the ceremony that I always appreciate is the roll call of veterans. The roll call starts with those who served in World War II (there are fewer every year), continues through the Korean and Viet Nam wars, and ends with the various wars in the Middle East through the continuing conflict in Afghanistan. And for each one, men and women from each new generation stand to be recognized and honored for their service, past and present.

I love the USA

Students from the ASPIRE programs at Lewis and Alameda Elementary Schools performed at the Memorial Day Ceremony at the Downey Cemetery. First, they sang "American Tears," by Teresa Jennings. The kids were appropriately solemn as they sang these words:

For the heroes. For the patriots.
For the soldiers. For all the pioneers.
I will always be an American.
And I’ll always cry American tears.

And then they sang "God Bless the USA," by Lee Greenwood. Its upbeat tune and chorus had everyone smiling—and taking pictures.

And I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free
And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me
And I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land
God bless the USA.

The LAIR

Recently, I visited the Los Angeles Zoo at Griffith Park. It's been a while since I've been, and this is the first time I've seen the completely refurbished LAIR (Living Amphibians, Invertebrated, and Reptiles) exhibit. As an added bonus, I got to see it through the eyes of a couple of small boys who were fascinated by every swimming, crawling, slithering creature!

The Zoo is only 20 miles from Downey, and they offer an affordable family season pass. Check it out this summer if you have the chance.

Do you know the ice cream man?

I didn't know we still had an ice cream man that comes through the neighborhood. Tonight I chased him down and I wasn't the only one. These kids made sure he not only stopped, but he actually backed up to us.

"Without ice cream, there would be darkness and chaos". 
~ Don Kardong

Fishermen

Sunset on the beach is one of the most beautiful scenes I can imagine. Tonight was incredible. We had this gorgeous ball of sun that slowly settled past the horizon.

Families were out playing on the beach and enjoying the colorful end of the day. It was sweet to watch this dad show his son how to catch a fish.

"It is almost impossible to watch a sunset and not dream."
~ Bern Williams

A peak at the Greek

Today I went to the first day of the Greek Food Festival at the St. George Greek Orthodox Church. It was early in the day, and they were still setting up much of the event, so there were not many people around, but the food was ready. And so were most of the rides and activities for kids.



"My dad believed in two things: That Greeks should educate non-Greeks about being Greek and every ailment from psoriasis to poison ivy can be cured with Windex".
~ Toula Portokalos, My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Ride and Stride 2017

Today was the Downey Ride and Stride event. This is one of several check-in locations, where kids had fun signing in with various levels of artwork, from scribbles to flowers.

Ride and Stride provides almost 5 miles of car-free streets, where kids of all ages can walk or ride (any non-motorized form of transportation, including scooters, bicycles, wheelchairs, skateboards, wagons, strollers, rollerblades, and more).

Along the way, there were lots of stops with music, games, vendors, food, a petting zoo, and lots more.

Big sisters

This little girl was definitely taking care of her little brother as they walked around the park.

"My first job is big sister and I take it very seriously!"

I won't grow up

For me, the best part of any park was always the trees. Which ones could be climbed? Which ones had the perfect seat for surveying my surroundings?

“If growing up means it would be beneath my dignity to climb a tree, I won’t grow up.” 
~ Peter Pan

The care and feeding of birds

These sisters couldn't decide if it was more fun to feed the birds or chase them. Either way, they were having a great time at Wilderness Park today.

Taking my daughter to feed the birds at Wilderness is one of my favorite memories. And of course, we always brought a loaf of bread. It never occurred to me back then that this wasn't very good for the ducks and geese. It turns out that bread is like junk food for most birds—filling, with no nutritional value. Their natural diet is more likely to consist of seeds, vegetation, and even fish. Bread can get moldy quickly, and large pieces can get stuck in the birds' craws.

So the next time you go to the park to feed the birds, take along some bird seed. Enjoy feeding the birds, and knowing that you're providing them with a healthy diet.

Big and little

A big tree. A little boy. A study in contrast at Furman Park.

The cookie monsters

It's that time of year again, where Girl Scout cookies pop up around every corner (and at your door) to tempt you. Lali (left) and Lisset have found a great spot to sell out their inventory in front of the local Stater Brothers grocery store. And of course I had to pick up a box of those thin mints!

Kids at play

It was a beautiful day out today. Walking through the park, I watched these kids for a moment. They were having such a good time that it was fun to watch. One of the things about kids is their ability to have fun wherever they are. Somehow, they are always at play. And,  you never know what they are thinking or what they might be ready to say.

"Mom, button my sweater, please. I'm going to slay a dragon." 
~ Reese (age 3)

Off to a good start

We like to keep up with the local Downey news at our house. All of us!

Lemonade stand

When my wife and I got home from our evening walk in downtown Downey, we were greeted by this flyer on our front door. The neighbor's two boys are having a lemonade stand tomorrow, Friday, in their front yard. You have to admire their industriousness.



Time passes so quickly and children grow so fast. We have watched these two handsome young men grow up. It is such fun but, "Don't blink."