Bronx
girl soaking up fresh air in Gray
By Elizabeth Prata
"It's grassier than I thought it would be."
Ten-year-old Crystal Brown lives in the Bronx where
people are "talking, yelling, and screaming"
all the time. When Crystal's mother saw the information
about the Fresh Air Fund, she talked to Crystal about
making the bus trip up to Maine for a week of, well,
fresh air.
"My mom told me about it," Crystal said.
She is staying in Fred and Lisa Johnson's home in
Gray, where there is a lawn, a quiet dead-end street,
and a pool. "I thought there would be a little
bit of grass, but there's a lot," Crystal said.
The Fresh Air Fund, is an independent, not-for-profit
agency, that has provided free summer vacations to
more than 1.7 million children since 1877. Each summer,
thousands of children visit volunteer host families
in 13 northeastern states and Canada. In 2005, eleven
Fresh Air children stayed with families in the Gray,
ME area.
Lisa Johnson said that the experience so far for her,
he husband and their two children Sydney (11) and
Sophie (20 has exceeded all expectations. The group
has visited Portland headlight "the rock place"
as Crystal describes it, Reid State park, Range Pond,
and "lots of people's houses' said Crystal. Swimming
is what Crystal likes best, and is something she does
every day.
"I had no idea what to expect," said Lisa.
"This has definitely exceeded anything I might
have expected. Crystal is a joy." Hearing the
compliment, Crystal beamed.
Visiting friend from New Gloucester, Taylor Morrissette,
said that "Crystal is really fun and funny."
The local Fresh Air Fund volunteer committee greeted
New York City children as they arrived in the area
last week. The youngsters are six to 18 years old
and will be visiting for two weeks or more. Some are
leaving home and New York City for the first time,
like Crystal, while others are returning to visit
the same host families for consecutive summers. This
is the Johnson's first Fresh Air Fund experience,
too.
Crystal said that she was "looking forward to
the fresh air, having fun and meeting people."
Sydney Johnson said that the two have been playing
monopoly a lot and of course, swimming in the pool.
Crystal said that there is a pool available to her
in the Bronx, but it's about twenty minutes away and
she rarely, if ever goes to the beach.
She said that se would participate in the Fresh Air
Fund again next year. The Johnsons have asked for
Crystal again, as well. Host families may request
the same child to visit up until they are eighteen
years old. "She's already talking about next
year," said Lisa.
The fresh veggies have attracted Crystal, even the
peas, which she ate straight from the pod. "She
liked them so much she put them on her cheeseburger,"
said Lisa, and all three girls giggled.
"It's fun doing the things I can't do in New
York," Crystal said. Asked where she would like
to live when she gets older, a city or a rural area,
Crystal said "I want to live in Paris."
She is especially attracted to the Eiffel Tower, berets
and "all the paintings you can look at."
Lisa said that she would recommend the experience
to anybody. "It's been great."
