Our park, parkour

Incredible, brilliant spring day on Saturday so we walked out for coffee and stopped in Volunteer Park for frisbee. Anselm throws and catches pretty well, and is always asking for more challenging throws that will make him run. Surprisingly, Eliot also picked up the game quickly and threw consistently smooth (if very short) throws. Her learning style was very typical: she allowed me to guide her hand exactly twice then refused further intervention. She was impatient with verbal advice but did listen to it and corrected instantly. She also asked for tosses that made her run and was furious if anyone beat her there. She is a determined young person.

On our way home, we stopped for some tree-climbing and were blown away by a group of athletic and graceful young men leaping into, over and through the trees, ending sometimes in rolls or flips onto their feet. They are practitioners of parkour, a sport that teaches urban running and obstacle navigation. Anselm was utterly enchanted and rolled down every sloping lawn between the park and home. Turns out one can train in Fremont at this wonderful activity. It is a mixture of running, climbing, gymnastics, judo-- "and awesomeness!", says Anselm.