sunday (8/26) was sunny and warm and there was a children’s fair going on at the mission playground, organized by 826 valencia. say what you will about dave eggers and the self-absorbed cult of culture that’s sprung up around mcsweeney’s and various hipster authors over the last near-decade, his 826 valencia is as close to a purely wonderful contribution that anyone has given the city in a long time. they offer free after-school tutoring and creative writing classes to the city’s kids. they reach out to the kids who need it. they teach them how to write, they encourage them to be imaginative, honest, and creative.

at the fair, junaid got dressed up like a pirate, soaked me with a water balloon, and danced up a rock wall like nureyev with a climbing harness. ziad got his face painted like spiderman, and both made art to take home. i watched michelle tea get unceremoniously dumped in a dunking booth. the boys dragged us to the playground where they swung on the monkey bars (kyriell: “anyone who claims that humans are not descended from primates has obviously never spent any time with a seven-year old on a jungle gym.”) and made me chase them around in circles until i started hyperventilating and passed out on the ground, only to be taunted by a couple five-year olds that i’d never even met before.