Da Goddess

Looking For Normal

We made an attempt to do normal things this afternoon and evening.

The Chicken Pie Diner in Poway holds "Cruise Night" on Wednesdays - from April through October. The Wednesday before Halloween is the season ender and kids showing up in costume eat free at the restaurant. After dinner, everyone heads outside to look at cars and talk, kids trick or treat the cars, and people generally enjoy the fellowship of a few hours where real life takes a break and everyone gets to be a motorhead for a bit.

There had been much discussion amongst the owner, employees, and regular patrons of the place - in light of the fire, should the Halloween Cruise Night go on at all? It was unanymous. Yes. With costumes.

And so it was that we loaded up Little Dude and headed over to the Chicken Pie Diner for the event. The food was good. The costumes were great. The cars were fantastic. But, more than anything, we stood together, our little community, and raised a collective sigh relief.

A few familiar faces were missing. Some of them were residents of Ramona. Others probably thought the event would be called off. And maybe, some thought it in bad taste to gather together while the fires still burned to the east of us. Nobody knew for certain.

Those who attended had a great time. There were plenty of cars there. Lots of kids. Kids who had been stuck indoors for several days. Kids with lots of pent up energy. And they ran and laughed and played and had fun. That alone was enough to cause a big lump in my throat.

It's an amazing salve, a child's laughter. Add more kids and it's the most precious sound in the world after days of tears and terror. Thank God for those children. You could almost see the worry lines fade from faces.

An extra surprise awaited us this evening. The owner of the diner presented my dad with an award for all his hard work on the Poway Days parade and car show this year. My dad was truly surprised at the award. If you knew my dad's health history, you'd have been holding your breath over his reaction. I almost had a heart attack myself watching his face. I'm so proud of my dad. All that work was something he really wanted to do and he, literally, put his heart into making things happen.

My daughter and her friend were kind to Little Dude and took him around to all the cars, filled his bag with treats, and basically joined in the fun. My daughter dressed as a Ghost of Christmas (she couldn't decide which one - just generic) and her friend came dressed as Car Crash Barbie - complete with icky head wound. They were adorable. Little Dude? Dressed as Jeff Corwin, carrying a large snake. What a fine trio they were!

The best costumes of the night, in my opinion, belonged to a family. Four kids. Just enough for most rock bands. They came as KISS. Gotta love it! From a 4 or 5 year old on up to what looked to be a 14 year old. The makeup was perfect, too.

Overall, the evening wasn't normal by any means. With some of the regulars missing and the smell of smoke still in the air, people carried around the tension that had been a part of our lives for the last few days. It helped to be together, though. And those kids - why, they made all the difference. Their joy at being free again was palpable. We adults soon set aside the photos and tales of what we'd seen and played right alongside the children.

Not normal. But, rounding the corner to bring us somewhere in the neighborhood, I'd say.

Posted by DaGoddess at October 29, 2003 10:45 PM