ZOO

5:15 alarms are not fun.

We were at the World Financial Center at 7 a.m., from whence we departed to go the Future Leaders Institute, an elementary and middle school in the Bronx. The group I was in took fifth graders onto the subway and corralled them to the Central Park Zoo. (See the post from yesterday about Impact Day). I had six rowdy boys to chaperone. It was very fun at times, and a headache at others. They all fought a lot and I had to step in often. One kid tripped and fell into the otter exhibit, scraping himself up, so I had to take him to Mr. Max for first aid. They all called another kid stupid for thinking the penguins really can dance (per Happy Feet), so I had to comfort him. By the day's end, they were all asking me, "When do we get to see you again?" One kid said, "Josh, you're my best friend." Another kid said, "That guy Joshua is like the best friend that I never knew I had, you know?!" I hope I was a good role model for them today. One kid said he liked to write, specifically poetry, when he and I were separate from the group. I encouraged him to develop his writing ability, because whatever career he chose it would help him get a leading edge. He listened with bright eyes.

Later in the evening after a nap, I took the subway to Brooklyn to go to a Target store (the only one in the area). I have only 2 more boroughs to visit: Queens and Staten Island.