Last night, I was sitting down to compose a letter about my concerns about the Friday Harbor Elementary School playground’s new underlayment, crumb rubber. My daughter asked me what I was doing, so I told her.

She kept telling me what I should write about and correcting my perspective, so I asked her what she would write. Here is her dictated letter, much more clearly stated than mine: (for more information, there is a Friday Harbor parent blog: www.playgroundforall.blogspot.com )

“My name is Thea Seitz and I am in second grade at Friday Harbor Elementary School.

“When we were going to the fair, I smelled this smell all the way from under the play shed. It smelled like yucky, yucky, garbage in the garbage can stinking. And when I played on it I had to hold my nose, it stinks so bad. And while the year has been going on so far, if people fall on it they get black stuff all over their hands and knees. What if somebody doesn’t know about it and eats a piece, what will happen then?

“Even though the smell has got not as bad, it’s toxic, can’t you see that, weirdoheads? I mean, can’t you smell that?”

Jeff, Gail and Thea Seitz
San Juan Island