today i had my first school visit where i do a song and dance for the kiddies to entice them to read all summer long. this particular song and dance involves the invisible dog. so afterwards, i had to walk through the playground to get to my car. the playground was full of the younger group of children i had talked to earlier. not one to stuff my poor dog headfirst into a tote bag, i “walked” my “dog” out across the playground and was immediately besieged by kids wanting to pet my dog. they literally crowded around me to pet the air around this empty leash. it was so endearing. my favorite was the kid who kept saying, “is that a real dog? no, really, is that a real dog?”
i said, “sure it is! why don’t you pet him?”
“i cain’t feel nothin.'”
“yeah, he’s really soft, isn’t he?”
(running his hands vertically through the air that would be my dog) “is there really a dog here? i can’t see him!”
(other kids) “yep, it’s a dog! we can see him!”
who says kids today don’t have imagination? granted, there were the other kids grabbing onto the leash and saying, “there’s a stick in there!” and “that ain’t no real dog.” but nonetheless, i had a second, equally large crowd of dog lovers stop me again before i could get out of the playground and out to my car who insisted on petting my dog. :)
