The Goody Bag

"It's not fair!" exclaimed Scarlet. "Why does he get to keep it?" And so began another kindergarten tug-of-war over who was going to end up with something the others were restricted from claiming. This time, the dispute involved a "goody bag" that Gus had found on our field trip to McLaren Park today. The kindergarteners never know when I'm going to surprise them by letting them keep a small token they come across on trips like this - a shiny bead, miniature playing card and a new ballpoint pen were all discovered on our walking trip through the Portola neighborhood today. And because they had shown them to me first, these lucky scavengers were able to keep each item as a souvenir of our day together. But this discovery felt different. As more and more children gathered around Gus to proclaim the unfairness of him being the rightful owner of it, the look on his face as he walked towards me revealed he already had a feeling he wasn't going to be allowed to keep his prize. Reluctantly, he handed the clear zipper bag with a bright sticker over to me, and immediately I could see the appeal. After all, any child would be excited about receiving a party bag filled with what looked like new, colorful balloons and small packets of flavored chapstick. As tired as I was, I had to act fast; swiftly, I deposited the bag of unused condoms and lubricant into my backpack, telling Gus, "This might be a goody bag for someone, but it's not for us." This wasn't the answer he wanted to hear, but as long as no one else was going to be allowed to go home with it, he let it go. Now, someone just needs to tell the SF Department of Public Health that, though they're doing a great service by handing out these Safe Sex bags in public locations, they might want to work on making them look slightly less appealing to children!