The Art & Science program, working with the Health Program is planning a series of public garden projects.
These will involve:
• Creating an organic food garden in Estrella Park. This will provide healthy produce to those who might not otherwise be able to afford it. It will also promote a connection with the Earth and growing plants, which is often lacking in the city.
We also want to use companion planting to create a biologically healthy garden.
Companion planting means putting plants together in the garden that like, or helps each other out. Companion planting can have a real impact on the health and yield of your plants.
Sometimes, a plant is planted next to its “companion” because it’s more attractive to pests and serves to distract them from the main crop. An excellent example of this is the use of collards to draw the diamond back moth away from cabbage
Legumes—such as peas, beans, and clover—have the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen for their own use and for the benefit of neighboring plants via symbiotic relationship with Rhizobium bacteria. Forage legumes, for example, are commonly seeded with grasses to reduce the need for nitrogen fertilizer. Likewise, beans are sometimes interplanted with corn.
Some plants exude chemicals from roots or aerial parts that suppress or repel pests and protect neighboring plants. The African marigold, for example, releases thiopene—a nematode repellent—making it a good companion for a number of garden crops.
Allelochemicals are chemicals produced by one plant that is toxic to another. Allelochemicals such as juglone—found in black walnut—suppress the growth of a wide range of other plants. So if you are trying to plant tomatoes under your walnut tree forget it!
A positive use of plant allelopathy is the use of mow-killed grain rye as mulch. The allelochemicals that leach from rye residue prevent weed germination but do not harm transplanted tomatoes, broccoli, or many other vegetables.
Planting tall-growing, sun-loving plants together with lower-growing, shade-tolerant plants can result in higher total yields from the garden. It can also yield pest control benefits. When corn is companion-planted with squash or pumpkins, it is believed to disorient the adult squash vine borer and protect the vining crop from this damaging pest. In turn, the presence of the prickly vines is said to discourage raccoons from ravaging the sweet corn.
Tall or dense-canopied plants may protect more vulnerable species through shading or by providing a windbreak.
Beneficial habitats—sometimes called refugia—are another type of companion plant interaction that has drawn considerable attention in recent years. The benefit is derived when companion plants provide a desirable environment for beneficial insects and other arthropods—especially those predatory and parasitic species which help to keep pest populations in check. Predators include ladybird beetles, lacewings, hover flies, mantids, robber flies, and non-insects such as spiders and predatory mites. Parasites include a wide range of fly and wasp species including tachinid flies, and Trichogramma and ichneumonid wasps. Agro ecologists believe that by developing systems to include habitats that draw and sustain beneficial insects, the twin objectives of reducing both pest damage and pesticide use can be attained.
We hope to use create easement gardens using Phytoremediation. Phytoremediation is the use of plants and trees to remove or neutralize contaminants in polluted soil or water.
The word comes from the Greek φυτο (phyto) = plant, and Latin « remedium » = restoring balance, or remediation.
Phytoremediation may be applied wherever the soil or static water environment has become polluted or is suffering ongoing chronic pollution.
It is a clean, efficient, inexpensive and non-environmentally disruptive method.
Below is a list of some plants and the toxins they can extract from the soil. (I find it pretty amazing!)
• Arsenic, using the Sunflower (Helianthus annuus), or the Chinese Brake fern (”Pteris spp”], a hyperaccumulator. Chinese Brake fern stores arsenic in its leaves.
•
• Cadmium and zinc, using Alpine pennycress (Thlaspi caerulescens), a hyperaccumulator of these metals at levels that would be toxic to many plants
•
• Lead, using Indian Mustard (Brassica juncea), Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia), Hemp Dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum), or Poplar trees, which sequester lead in its biomass.
•
• Salt-tolerant (moderately halophytic) barley and/or sugar beets are commonly used for the extraction of Sodium chloride (common salt) to reclaim fields that were previously flooded by sea water.
•
• Uranium, using sunflowers, as used after the Chernobyl accident.
We also plan to plant butterfly attractors such as milkweed to attract butterflies and caterpillars to our garden. This would enable our children and ourselves to experience first-hand the miraculous process of metamorphosis.
Not only would this teach the children about gardening, companion planting, healthy growing practices, horticulture and beneficial insects, it would help create within them a sense of person responsibility for their community.
The residents of the Figueroa Corridor, are often totally removed from nature and its processes. We believe it is important for our children to experience the wonder of nature first-hand. How can we create environmental stewards of our children and youth, if the only world they see is a world of concrete, dirt and garbage? You cannot learn to appreciate and protect something you have no exposure to.
In addition, a garden of plants and mosaics would beautify our community, creating art and a garden bursting with life.
We are also working on a project to create a butterfly /phytoremediation garden and mosaic playground with (The Los Angeles land Trust, SAJE and The Promatoras de Salud.)

Pictured above is Milkweed (Asclepias species, named after Asclepius, Greek god of healing, because of the many folk-medicinal uses for the milkweed plants) and a monarch caterpillar. Milkweed is named for its milky juice, which contains alkaloids and latex. It is the only sole food source of Monarch Butterfly larva,
I will not, cannot name all the wonderful people these projects have put me in contact with.
Esperanza community members started the gardening project last Saturday.
It was hard work as the easement is covered with crabgrass. While we worked we were joined by Pedro (the maintenance man at Algeria) and his entire family. They brought extra tools. Some residents saw what we were doing and brought us some oregano and basil to plant. On Monday the kids decided to make bird houses which we hung in the magnolia tree. The kids brought some bird food (actually hamster food) to put in the bird house.
They are watering the garden daily!
Some residents watch us, We were warned that the bad guys might destroy our efforts, but so far so good. And now many people pass and smile and say how wonderful it is to have a garden:) ~Evie

August 3, 2009
The Mystery of the Rose in the Garden and other tales from Esperanza
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I brought in some 4 day old kittens yesterday. The kids were enthralled. They were even delighted when they peed and pooped.
Two recalcitrant youth who have always regarded me with suspicion and hostile glances (perchance because I am generally coated in a clashing variety of colors and clays…They are probably aspiring designers and I offend their nascent fashion sense…. yep that must be it.) were lured in to touch (lightly) the kittens.
I was rewarded with dazzling smiles and waves. Other species are often the best intermediaries.

“I brought in some 4 day old kittens!” I told the moms.
“Vivos?” (Are they alive?”)
“Of course they’re alive! What do you think I am?!”
“I meant are they clay,” Sandra explained

And speaking of kids (sort of)… there are tons, adults & teens, 11- 4 year olds, painting, modeling greenware ( unfired clay), throwing on the wheel (and if I’m lucky, not on the wall) , glazing & dipping bisque (fired clay), watering the garden, examining the garden, smelling and tasting plants, finding worms….

Last night at about 7:00pm I heard a commotion outside, looking out the classroom window I discovered about 20 people, young and old.
I inspected the street, but noticed nothing unusual (except conceivably me, dirtier than normal if possible, encrusted not only with clay glaze and paint as usual, but with soil as well.)
“Is there a problem?” I asked
“Just looking, ” one young man answered.
“At the class?” Or at the incredibly grubby woman before you?
“No, at the garden. We are admiring the garden.”
“We love the garden.”

I could have cried, adding trails of salt to my overall filth. Luckily I’m not a crier.

I noticed a rose in the garden when I arrived, but we have not planted any roses? A mom whose kids have all been in my class said, “I planted a rose, in the garden.”
How easily,often and beautifully are mysteries solved and miracles explained… I still don’t get how they fit an entire tree into that tiny seed case though. ~Evie Art & Science Director

July 30, 2009
Community Garden
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Esperanza’s Art & Science Program provides essential service to the children of our community: igniting imaginations, instilling pride, and encouraging active engagement with the natural world and the community.
As schools continue to cut funding, sacrificing the arts, hands-on science projects, and field trips, Esperanza continues to provide low-income students with opportunities for artistic and scientific growth.
The “Community Garden” project’s goal is to beautify our community and with the help and enthusiasm of the children, the garden is already nourishing the community with its first tomato and 2 squashes.
The kids (ages 6-16) are learning while they garden.
They gravely answer “cotyledon” when asked what seed leaves (the first leaves) of a plant are; chloroplast (for food cells) and phloem & Xylem for the inner tubes.
Now we are working on flower parts
Stamen is the boy… remember stay Man
Piston is a girl, think Annie Oakley (she used pistols.) ~ Elizabeth


October 6, 2009
Of Aphids and Ants; Continuing tales fron Esperanza
Posted by evieeve under Arts & Science, Garden, Uncategorized
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People don’t like aphid, but they have a remarkable life cycle and fascinating history.
So before you look down upon the lowly aphid read on…
The Manna from Heaven that the Israelites ate while strolling through the desert might well have been honeydew from aphids or other insects!
Aphids produce a sweet sticky substance called honey dew, if you don’t believe me, go feel the plants where they have been… sticky.
If you are still skeptical, lick your fingers (euee gross.) In the ancient Oaks and Olives, large quantities of honey dew would freeze in the night. When the sun arose and warmed the frozen dew…, bonk!
Manna, right on your noggin! It’s a wonder that the Jews didn’t come up with the idea of gravity. (Was Newton Jewish?)
Man” is the common Arabic name for aphids, and man es simma (the “manna of heaven”) for honeydew.
In the Mideast, people still collect the sweet excretions (which is a nice word for phoo) of scale insects that feed on tamarisk. They call it “man” and make halva out of it. (Lest we feel superior in our culinary habits, a large portion of bee honey is actually honeydew harvested from the surface of plants.)
Aphids pierce the phloem tubes of plants with their sharp mouthparts and suck out the sugary goodies in transit there. (Phloem is the tube that transports food, mostly sugar to all parts of the plant. Xylem transports water.)
Aphids process this food and excrete drops (honeydew) rich in sugars, free amino acids (the building blocks of proteins), proteins, minerals and vitamins. Move over Whole Foods!
Some aphids shoot this waste away from their bodies, but other species of aphids have learned to excrete a drop on from their rear end when an ant taps them with foreleg or antennae. Then the ant eats it (and you thought humans were kinky!) Later, the ant will regurgitate part of the honeydew for it’s nest mates.
You could try this if you’re not worried about what the neighbors might think.
Sometimes aphids are called “ant cows”.
Ants like honeydew as much as the Israelites did. Through the winter, some ants take aphid eggs down into their colonies to protect them, bringing them up to graze in the springtime. If you look closely, you may see small cowboy hats on the ants… or maybe not.
Each aphid species has its own life cycle, but there are some features uniting nearly all of them.
One feature most species share is that they are incredibly prolific, worse than rabbits!
Wingless adult female aphids can produce 50 to 100 offspring. A newly born aphid becomes a reproducing adult within about a week and then can produce up to 5 offspring per day for up to 30 days!
If all the descendants of a single aphid survived the summer and were arranged four abreast, their line would exceed the circumference of the earth at the equator! Now that’s a lot of honeydew! Dentists LOVE them.
Even more amazing is that most of this reproduction takes place without the interference of males!
This is known as parthenogenesis. (From the Greek parthenos, “virgin”, + genesis, “creation”.)
When mother aphids reproduce parthenogenetically, instead of laying eggs they give birth directly to smaller editions of themselves. An “average” aphid life cycle goes a little something like this: (stop me if you’ve heard this one.)
In spring, an egg hatches, producing a wingless female aphid who almost immediately begins parthenogenetically producing new wingless females. Generation follows generation of wingless females; I think I saw one wearing “an aphid without a male is like a fish without a bicycle” tee shirt. Then hot weather arrives, or maybe the plant they are living on dies, some of the females grow wings and fly off. I wish I could do that!
This new generation of female winged aphid find a plant host of a completely different species from that on which their spring generations have developed.
Typically, when it’s time to move back to the plant species on which aphid winters, (kind of like wintering in the Hamptons) some aphids develop into males.
Sexual reproduction takes place, but apparently, it’s nothing to write home about because when the eggs hatch (in the spring) there are no males in sight.
Try explaining that in Spanish! The kids take this in stride.
But the dads don’t like it. One said, “Thank God I’m not an aphid.”
Usually parthenogenesis is followed by a brief bout of sexual reproduction just to keep the gene pool fresh.

October 2, 2009
Of Ladybugs and Larva, continuing tale from the Esperanza garden
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(The sunflowers have taken over!)

Then someone cut the heads from some of our largest sunflowers
Alex my 15 year old birder put up signs all over.
“Don’t Cut the Flowers! We are watching you!”
Oddly enough, it appears to have worked.
Still, someone has been taking the green tomatoes, crushing them, and removing melons before they can ripen.
… We put out this message in English and Spanish
Dear folks who are taking green tomatoes and unripe melons from our garden.
We know you must be very sad and angry to want to hurt our plants.
We are very sorry that you feel so bad.
If you will just let everything ripen, then you could eat it.
We’d MUCH rather you enjoyed it rather than destroyed it…
We want you to enjoy the garden too!
Thanks, The Children Gardeners

The Spanish version is MUCH longer and more elaborately worded.

However, we have some very exciting developments.
First, not only do we have myriad ladybug, we also have lady bug eggs and larva!
We have actually seen ladybugs emerge from the pupas!
In the spring, the adults lay up to three hundred eggs in an aphid colony. The eggs hatch in two to five days. The time it takes for a ladybug egg to hatch and become an adult takes about 3 to 6 weeks.
Ladybug eggs are very small, yellow ovals. Ladybugs lay their eggs on the undersides of leaves to keep them protected from predators.
Baby ladybugs (ladybug larvae) are rather creepy looking, but now that the kids know what they are they love ‘em.

Baby ladybugs spend their days eating and eating and eating, then they have a snack and eat some more! They can eat up to 400 aphids in 2 to 3 weeks . The newly hatched larvae feed on aphids for up to three weeks, and then they enter the pupa stage. After the babies have filled their little bellies and grown a bit, they attach themselves to a leaf and pupate. This is the transition stage when in about a week they will turn into a beautiful little adult ladybug the adult ladybug emerges about a week later. However, they usually do not have their spots for their first 24 hours of adulthood. So, if you see one without spots, you may have found a brand new adult.
Genesis is a brilliant, sweet child. She is lacking legs and a thumb, but her warmth, humor and intelligence win all. She discovered our first hatchling. It was very pale.

There may be as many as six generations of ladybugs hatched in a year.

Ladybugs are a kind of beetle. The female ladybug is usually larger than the male. Most of them have red, orange, or yellow elytra (wing covers) and black spots. Some are black with red spots and some ladybugs have no spots at all! The number of spots helps to identify the kind of ladybug. The elytra is a hard wing cover that protects the ladybug’s fragile wings. All beetles have elytra. Ladybug’s wings are so thin that you can see through them.
The pronotum is found just behind the ladybug’s head and it often has spots on it. It helps to hide and protect the head. Like all insects, the ladybug has six jointed legs. There are special organs on their feet to help them smell. (Butterflies & Bees smell with their feet too.) The ladybug uses its antennae to touch, smell and taste.

We also have aphids. I have found that if you have milkweed (which I always do as it is the host plant for Monarch caterpillars and butterflies.) The aphids remain there. We have Oleander aphids, which are orange. There are many species of aphids… and I imagine they are numerous as the stars that shine & twinkle in the milky way… ours slime & stinkle on the milky weed. (That’s poetic license actually, they don’t smell.)

Host plants are restricted to oleander, butterfly weed and milkweed. Aphids spend most of their lives with their straw-like beaks stuck into leaves and stems, sucking out sweet plant juices. But, aphids do not usually cause plant health to suffer. The up side is, is that if you have aphids ladybugs will follow.
When I showed up at the garden yesterday, many of the sunflowers were beheaded. I was feeling a tad depressed when I ran into one of the dads.
“Miss Elizabeth,” he exclaimed with pride. “I cut the flowers so they will be healthy and branch more!”
Well, while that works for some plants sunflowers aren’t one of them. Still, it’s better than vandals!
The kids and I ate some of the seed that were ripe.
We gathered tropic oregano, rosemary, lemon balm, spearmint and chocolate mint for them to take home for cooking and tea.
Tropical oregano
Plectranthus amboinicus is a succulent that smells and tastes like very strong oregano. The leaves have also had many traditional medicinal uses; treatment of coughs, sore throats, nasal congestion, infections, rheumatism and flatulence. In Indonesia Plectranthus amboinicus is a used in soup to stimulate lactation for the month or so following childbirth.
A Journalism student from USC stopped by and wants to do a story on us (YEAH!) He promised to return Saturday. He had a British accent, so the kids were properly impressed.

August 21, 2009
Of Budgies and Ballparks or continuing tales from Esperanza
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The garden grows.
The Budgie is jealous of his home. When we water, he waits anxiously in the branches above, waiting for us to leave.
Not that he’s antisocial. He entertains sparrows daily.

Two thuggish youth watched me water.
“This your garden?”
“…Well…” I began.
“Looks great!”
“Thank you thugs, “I replied (no not really.)

The kids have decided to build more houses for our other trees. Maybe we’ll get more escaped immigrants.
We have tomatoes, cucumbers, spices, flowers, mints and some weird melonish thingie. (That’s the botanical term.)
We have planted myriad wildflower. I saw my first butterfly today, not a monarch…but they will come.
Like building a ball park. (If you build it… they will come.)
I don’t expect shoeless Joe, but I do expect shoeless monarchs.

Someone has put rich soil all around the magnolia trees.

We (me and Irene 8 and Alex 14) gave a mosaic workshop at SAJE today. Eventually we will mosaic a bench/planter combo.

Afterward Irene and I took some pieces from the Kiln.
“Wow,” I said. “They came out fantastic!”
(They had been fired and refired about 5 times!)
“Yep,” she replied. “I never gave up on these.”
“As well you shouldn’t.”
“You’re my favorite art teacher.”
““Aren’t I you only art teacher?”
“I have had others, and they always made you do what they say. You let us do what we want.”
“Well, that’s how art should be,” I said. “There are certain ways to do things… but…”
(Also, I suck at discipline.)
“I’m going to keep this forever,” she said holding a vase close to her chest.
“I’m going to keep this my whole life; I’m going to be buried with it. And whenever I look at it, I will think of you. I will never forget you,”
I’m not a crier, but she got me.

August 14, 2009
The Budgie in the Birdhouse; Or Continuing tales from Esperanza
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Our Garden is amazing!
Contrary to dire prediction, the neighborhood is respecting it. Our vegetables are allowed to ripen.
Yesterday Chris presented me with a despondent chrysanthemum to plant.
Because we have scattered much bird seed in the garden, we have a fine crop of sunflowers and grain as well as veggies, salvias, milkweed and mints.
We weeded and thinned the grains and seeded vibrant varieties of wildflowers.
Do you remember, Alex, a 14 year old boy asked me if he could build a bird house? He even brought in food for the birds. (It was actually small animal food, but the concept was there.) He built two, one with a plastic bottle designed to gradually release seed, the other an open box he painted baby blue.
He’s been wondering why no birds come to his feeders?
“Be patient: First, we have seed all over and many birds are eating from the ground. Second, let them get used to it.”
Well Guess what?!
A small blue budgie has moved into the blue bird house!
I think I’m more excited than the kids!
It’s obviously an escapee looking for a safe home.
The blue bird house is just his shade and size.
Perfect move in-condition.
Casey and I made a bird food run yesterday.
She is an adorable girl, a good artist a dedicated gardener and a lousy navigator!
She was planning a trip to Vegas (”only 2 hours from the city.”) for bird seed.
I guess that high desert seed is the best.
Alex is in a camp for a week so he doesn’t yet know the budgie broadcast.

August 9, 2009
Brandon’s Big Gun, or Communal Effort Routs Superior Weapons
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More Tales from Esperanza.



Last Friday it was hot. It has been hot for months. Heat has entered our bloodstreams, creating longing for cold seas, mountain breezes, swimming pools… and water fights.
As we watered the gardens, the kids often missed the plants and wet each other, envisioning rapid growth spirts and glorious careers as basketball heroes.
We have red peppers now. Something I thought would never happen, as till now our peppers have vanished before ripening.
Our Butterfly plants (Milkweed) Salvias, succulents thrive, and our tomatoes ripen.
“Can we have a water fight?” asked Irene
“If you all bring a change of clothes and follow some rules,” I countered, “We can, Monday.”
“Can we bring food?”
“Yes, to be eaten AFTER, the fight.”
Monday & I arrived hot and muggy.
But unlike Monday, I carried with me 8 cheap water guns and some balloons. The early arrivals (Metz & Irene) helped water the garden and engaged in some squirting and chasing. Soon more kids amassed, including Genesis.
Genesis was born without legs & only one thumb. She is a wise child, patient and humorous. She is an inspiration to all who know her. I am always especially touched when this gracious child has an opportunity to join in something fun and physical.
The water balloons were almost impossible to fill and even harder to burst. They bumped off of stomachs and heads into the sidewalk and remained intact!
Then Brandon & Chris showed up
Chris is 2 or 3 and Brandon a very serious 6.
Brandon came armed. He lugged with him the incredibly enormous water gun he had been given for his birthday. This gun was the size and weight of a medium Sherman tank.
It was larger than most of my cars. It fired both forward out of one barrel and backward out of two.
“You guys, better go after Brandon,”
“GET BRANDON!”
Irene transformed, into General Irene. She mobilized the kids, having them fill and carry buckets, dictating what each bucket was to be used for (one for filling Guns and one for foot washing.) Who could use the buckets (Only the good (her) team.)
The good team consisted of everyone except Brandon, Chris and (by choice) Casey.
Due to the complex mechinisum of gun, it was very difficult to make it squirt; also, it weighed almost as much as Brandon.
That poor kid, not only was he out gunned and out numbered, due to his weapon; he was hardly able to move. Soon the tiniest children were lugging buckets of water over to Bandon, hoisting them overhead and emptying them on top of him.
The odd thing was that the kids still viewed THE GUN as a superior weapon, even though it demonstrably was not. I tried to fire it once and during the time it took me to pump it up, I was surrounded by an army of water gunning Lilliputians.
After everyone was chilled and my fingers had turned white and bloodless from filling water balloons, we changed clothes.
Some of the moms arrived with quesadillas, salads of cucumber, carrots and apples marinated in lemon (yum!) nuts, soda and cookies.
Then the children insisted on “doing art,” until I finally made them go home at about 9:00pm



Our benefit was last night, and a grand success it was…
As Lillian said
“The Papel picado was like a touch of happiness.”

Also, it was a good learning experience. More dancing! Less talk. Pastor Brian played blues on his harmonica and sang a most amusing ode to “South Central,”
Paris may be more belle
But my heart belongs to South Central… not that I would refuse time in Paris… just to MAKE SURE.

Sister Diane is as always a show stopper. She spoke at evenings end (at speeches’ end really, when talk dulls the ear and feet are eager to dance.) Still, when Diane speaks…. You could have heard a napkin drop.
How does she do it?” I asked Yadira (Nancy, Yadira and I are the old ladies of Esperanza now, Yikes!)
“She commands respect,” Yadira replied
’
None of the Sisters of Social Service seem to age, filled with fierce hope and gentle faith, it’s an iron strong, velvet coated combination.
I have a fierce respect.

One of the Highlight’s of the evening for me was seeing and hearing a former student of mine, now a state legislative consultant speak…
THE STORY UP TO NOW…
Alfredo was a smart, curious chubby lad when first we met. He was about 12, a tad suspicious and carrying a good sized chip on his shoulder.

I was at that time (about 13 years ago!) creating “Cut out Kids.” life-sized, cutout paintings of children on masonite. I painted each child photographed holding up a blank piece of paper. Into the space, the children would paint their own images.

Alfredo, who was a bit crazed about Marvin the Martian, painted his round green visage into the blank.
Kid’s Space Museum, at that time in a small space in Pasadena, hosted our first exhibition. It was a grand opening, resplendent with punch and cookies (the childhood equivalent of wine and cheese.)
I arrived in a school bus, accompanied by Clean and Green Teens (from the LA Conservation Corps’ youth program) and “my kids.”
When we pulled up outside the museum, Alfredo refused to leave the bus.
“I won’t get out,” he said. “This is a white persons’ place.”
“Yes,” I replied (ignoring the fact, as all my kids seem to that I am in fact white) but these white people are hosting a party for us, a party because they like your artwork.”
“I won’t go.”
“Look,” I said. “I’ll make you a deal. Come in for five minuets. If you don’t want to stay after that, you can return to the bus and wait.”
I would never let a child alone on a bus, but I was pretty sure of the enticements that kid space had to offer.
Alfredo agreed. And within 2 minuets, he was running around, trying on hats and make-believing, like the child he was. Even the older and therefore more jaded teens were running about clothing their hand in puppets, creating, playing and being children for a least one night.
Alfredo was of course recognized, by his cut-out portrait.
“Is this you?” adults would ask.
“Is this your work?”
Alfredo acknowledged that it was. As the night progressed, Alfredo spent more and more time lurking by his portrait.
At last, filled with cookies and punch, tired, happy and proud we returned to the bus.
Me being me, I could not resist a nudge…
“So, what did you think of the white people?”
Alfredo was quiet for a moment.
“Those were O.K. white people I guess,”

. For years to come Alfredo was in my program. Coming to art classes and traipsing all about the city on weekend field trips.
Eventually he disappeared into the horizon of adulthood.

Fast forward about ten years… I am leaving Villa Esperanza, the then site of my arts program. A tall, thin, handsome young man is exiting the building.
“Miss Elizabeth,” he cries. “Do you remember me?”
I had to admit ignorance.
“It’s me, Alfredo.”
And then I did. It was hard to see the chubby boy in the thin handsome young man.
Some people always look the same, but some kids metamorphosis in a matter of months.

“I’m so glad you are still doing your program,” he said. “You opened my eyes. You changed my life. I’m going to Berkeley now.”

Well that was extremely cool!

Fast forward again…it’s October 15th, 2009. Alfredo now a legislative consultant for Senator Dean Flores was a speakers at our benefit… Dancing Under the Stars.

“Remember me?” Alfredo asked. And once again, it took me a moment.
We stood together before his speech, “Do you remember Kids Space? And how you didn’t want to go into a white person’s place?”

He laughed ruefully. “When you grow up like this,” he said holding his hands to his head like horse blinders. ”You are afraid to see.”

“I remember moving into Villa Esperanza, he said. “I was so proud to have my own room. Up until that time, I was not allowed to bring friend home. ‘There is no room for the here.’ My parents said. And I’ll never forget Miss Elizabeth. She challenged us. She took us all over the city on public transportation and then buses. She transformed my horizon …”

And then we danced.