POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT (June 11, 2000)
A family from Central Asia in Hyde Park: mother, father, and a fat girl of about ten. She is learning how to ride her bicycle without the training wheels. Her mother is running alongside and holding onto the bar and the seat of the bike. They are hurtling toward the girl’s father, who is standing in the middle of a path. “That’s it, that’s it,” the mother is yelling excitedly, “you are doing it yourself!” The father is clapping and yelling something like: “Parmesan, Parmesan!” The girl is smiling triumphantly and tilting heavily to one side.