For years and years and years, I have resisted, with excruciating difficulty, taking pictures of that urban* phenomenon I call the KinderCluster. The KinderCluster is that group of little kids, often from a daycare or preschool, that you spot walking down the street en route to or from the park or just out for a change of scenery. Usually they are paired up in two parallel lines (think: Madeline), often holding hands or sometimes on either side of a rope, gripping it for security. One teacher usually leads them while another teacher acts as caboose.
By definition, the KinderCluster is so cute it hurts me in my gut.
And of course I have resisted taking photos of my favorite public sighting because, well, taking pictures of strangers' children can result in someone coming over to break your camera over your head. So I don't normally do it. Except for today, when I came across this:
 |
| Click on the picture to see a bigger version. |
This was a variant of the KinderCluster as the kids were, in fact, clustered around the body of a hand-crafted Chinese dragon made of crepe paper. Hailing from a neighborhood public preschool, they were staging their own tiny Lunar New Year parade, walking laps around the block, taking turns wearing the dragon head and leading the pack.
As they chanted "Happy New Year!" in English heavily accented by Spanish and Vietnamese, a teacher rhythmically banged on a small drum as they stopped periodically to readjust the dragon head, which seemed to keep slipping off the wearer. As they beamed at pedestrians and proudly showed off their dragon, the excitement was palpable. And really freaking adorable.
While I could no longer contain my photo restraint, I did try to be subtle, which is why the pictures aren't so great. And they don't capture a fraction of the cuteness I witnessed. But trust me: there was a whole lot of cute parading around the block this afternoon.
Happy Year of the Dragon! May it be filled with joy, prosperity, and frequent KinderCluster sightings!
__________________
*I think of KinderClusters as urban phenomenon because I only ever see them in cities, but I imagine they might be in the suburbs, too. Or even rural areas! And if not, they should be.
2 comments:
kindercluster! you ought to trademark that like thunderstick.
back in the olden days when i was pretending i didn't care one whit about kids, i would see these clusters holding on to a rope and think they were a) so smart for thinking of that and b) ALWAYS having more fun than anyone else on the street.
Hi Vanessa - loved reading about your sighting! Too cute. I hope your new year is off to a great beginning!
Post a Comment