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With fresh take on life, city girl learns rural culture
By Augusta Nissly
Lititz Record Express
Published: Jul 24, 2008 12:19 PM EST
Lititz -
Surrounded by construction paper, stickers, and markers, Linda
"LuLu" Larkins, 10, from Manhattan sits at the Barth Bailey
family's dinning room table recapping her two-week visit by diligently
pasting photographs from her trip into her scrapbook. A smile spreads on
her face as she proudly flips through the completed
pages.
This is the second summer Larkins has participated in
the Fresh Air Fund allowing her to spend time with the Baileys. The Fresh
Air Fund is a non-profit program that began in 1877 and allows thousands of
inner city children from New York City to experience life in a rural
setting each summer.
Arriving to Lancaster County by bus,
Larkins was barley off the bus before she was begging Linda Bailey to bake
cookies.
"LuLu loves making cookies, we made cookies for
the first four days she was here," said Bailey.
The
Baileys also kept Larkins busy by fully immersing her in Lancaster
traditions and daily life. They take the two weeks they are given with
Larkins and make the most of their opportunity by teaching her and
involving her in activities she wouldn't be able to experience at her
home.
One area the Baileys focus on is wildlife. With a
backyard surrounded by farmland, Larkins has the opportunity to view cattle
from the yard as well as fast growing corn. Another opportunity she is
given is to view numerous types of wild birds. Throughout her stay she has
learned to identify bluebirds, woodpeckers, and hummingbirds. Larkin's
has also had the opportunity to get a good look at the stars which she
can't do at home due to the lights from the city.
"My husband and LuLu have a race every night to see who
can see the first star or planet. We taught her how beautiful they
are," said Bailey.
Larkins also discovered her love of
local shopping. Favorite spots include Roots Country Market and Stauffers
of Kissel Hill. She plays mini golf, visits Wilbur Chocolate, boats on the
Susquehanna River, makes jewelry, eats corn on the cob, makes s'mores
fire side in the Baileys backyard, and swims at the pool.
At her
own home Larkins spends a large amount of time playing with friends out in
the hallway of her apartment building, and swimming in the local pool which
happens to be free. Her favorite thing to do at home is shop at the M&M
store in Time Square, which is far different from her favorite experience
at the Baileys this summer.
"A friend of mine needed help
digging out potatoes so spur of the moment we went over to help him,"
said Bailey. Together the Baileys and Larkins among a few other friends dug
up potatoes. Larkins was covered in dirty from head to toe and didn't
want to leave.
"Coming here is fun. All the fun stuff I
do at my house I do every day, here we do different things everyday,"
Larkins said.
While Larkins has a positive attitude toward
her experiences during her stay, it wasn't always that way. Last summer
during her first stay with the Baileys she was afraid. She didn't like
to walk on the grass and she wouldn't travel into the backyard.
Everything was very unlike what she was used to. Even now Larkins has
difficulty adapting to some of the attributes of Lancaster.
"I am not scared of the bugs anymore like last summer,
they are just annoying," Larkins said.
If any of her
four sisters were thinking about joining the Fresh Air Fund, Larkins would
encourage them to join.
"I would tell them don't be
scared, nobody is going to do anything to you. At first I was scared
something was going to happen to me, but then I knew that they were nice
and I felt safe with them," Larkins said.
Two weeks may
not seem like enough time to accomplish everything the Baileys want to
expose Larkins too, however, it is enough time for her become part of their
family.
"Spending time with LuLu is really fun, she is
like the sister I don't have," said Grace Bailey,
14.
The two girls refer to each other as "summer
sisters" and they communicate with each other throughout the year via
phone calls and letters.
"We send LuLu presents on
holidays and we send her letters with envelopes pre -addressed and stamped
so she can write back to us," said Bailey.
This program
offers not only Larkins a chance to learn from the Baileys but a chance for
them to learn from her.
"I learned it doesn't matter
where your from, you can still connect with someone it doesn't matter
if your from two different areas," Grace said.
Bailey
has also benefited from her time spent with Larkins and has viewed her
relationship with Larkins as a chance for her to give and receive.
"I have learned friendship. You always need to broaden
relationships and always keep it open. This is an opportunity for us to
take a city kid and show them this side of the world," said Bailey.
"This program is a great opportunity to broaden minds. It's only
two weeks and you don't have to spend gobs of money to participate.
Amish people take these kids home and they live like the Amish for two
weeks and afterward the kids go home with values they never learned."
The Baileys started partaking in the Fresh Air Fund after
Mrs. Bailey took a trip to New York City after 9/11. She was saddened by
the fact that there was no grass, they couldn't see the stars or the
moon. Everything was gray and buildings were everywhere.
"I came home and said were going to do fresh air. I have
a world I can give them," said Bailey.
Heading back to
her home in the city Larkins has her scrapbook to remind her of her time
with the Baileys and it gives her something to look forward to for the
following summer.
"Looking at my scrapbook reminds me of
the fun I have, but it makes me miss them," Larkins said.
Upon her departure back to her home on Tuesday Larkins left
with her scrapbook packed among the rest of her things. However arriving
home from dropping Larkins off at the pick up site the Baileys found that
she had left something behind for them.
"It was so
special she left us each little notes, of course we had snuck one in her
bag as well but it was just really special that she left them for us
too," Bailey said.
The Baileys compare their time with
Larkins to the book The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister. The book is about a
beautiful fish who gives away his scales as gifts to others.
"We told LuLu, our relationship is like that of the
Rainbow Fish, we give each other parts of ourselves to take with us,"
said Bailey.
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