♪♪
Annc: Murphy Austin Adams
Schoenfeld, LLP, focusing
on business law and
commercial litigation is proud
to support Rob on the Road
Region Rising.
More information available at
Rob: Coming up on Rob on the
Road Region Rising.
Three Sacramento treasures
blossom a new.
Go with me inside Front Street
Animal Shelter, pairing pets
and people in the middle
of a pandemic.
Mochi still needs a home.
Lovely lotus.
Peace and hope fill this
Land park pond.
Meet the Gardner who
created it all.
And how Fairytale Town keeps
dreams alive for kids through
imagination and play.
Kevin: We have managed
to carve out a place where
innocence is at a premium.
♪♪
Annc: And now Rob on the Road
exploring Northern California.
♪♪
Rob: Joining me now is
Phillip Zimmerman.
Phillip has been a long-time
animal advocate and expert, and
now is the director at Front
Street Animal Shelter.
It is so good to see you Philip.
Phillip: You too Rob.
Rob: Glad you're here.
You started this job in November
of 2019 and little did you know
what 2020 would bring.
Phillip: Yes.
It's been a challenging, um,
trying year.
But also, uh, lots of good
positive stuff in animal
welfare.
Rob: So how are things right now
with connecting people and pets
in the middle of a pandemic?
Phillip: It's been... it's been
amazing actually.
Um, you know, in March of this
year, um, you know, when we had
the first shelter in place order
here in Sacramento County, um,
and Front Street was, you know,
part of that process.
And so, once that order came
through that we then made the
decision that we needed to get
as many animals out.
We put a plea out on Instagram
to our community.
Um, within a matter of two days,
we received over 1300 of our
community members willing to
step up and foster animals from
the shelter.
Rob: Wow. That is so...
that's... that's just
awesome to hear.
I did not know the response
was that big.
I knew you had a big response,
but that's huge.
Phillip: It... it was.
I mean, it was so big that
we... we literally ran out
of animals, um, that
we could send out. And it's,
and what's even more
incredible is it's still going
on today. Like it's,
we still have people
signing up. We still
have people fostering.
Rob: That's fantastic.
How many of the people that are
fostering end up keeping them?
Phillip: It's what we're
seeing... we're seeing more
of those, what we would
call “foster fails.” Um...
Rob: [laughs]
Phillip: You know. Um...
Rob: Yup.
Phillip: Yeah. You know,
rom a━
Rob: ...Foster forward.
Phillip: Yeah. From a
management perspective,
I've always been against those
cause I, we need those fosters
to... to... to go back to the
foster animals.
But, uh, during COVID-19, um,
what we are absolutely promoting
foster filling.
We're seeing a really small
percentage of any animals coming
back to the shelter, much...
much smaller than before.
Um, and again, it's because
people have the time.
Rob: Are people finding the
pictures of the pet they
want on your website?
One that they'd love to...
to see if it would be the
perfect forever family?
Phillip: This... this model of
fostering, uh, animals in homes,
um, it's... it's better for
animals and it's better
for people. It, it's...
it get's, it truly captures
that animal. Um, and I...
I don't know about you
Rob, but I I'd rather see a
picture of an animal sitting on
somebody's couch or bed
than... than in a scary, uh,
scary, noisy shelter.
(Kitten meows)
Rob: It's so nice to be in an
environment where
unconditional love is at
the forefront.
And that's what animals do.
They keep you in the now.
And that's the beauty of...
of having a pet.
Is that it's, it's truly, and
you know, they live in
the moment.
Phillip: But there's something
really unique about animals.
Having that human animal bond
during a time, like, COVID, it
can make a situation that...
that is really highly stressful,
and it can just bring it down
a few notches.
Um, and that's... that's
what we're seeing.
I mean, it's, there... there
could be so many people
right now just saying,
“You know, I can't...
I can't... I can't handle
everything that's
going on.” And we're
seeing totally opposite.
People are opening their
ar━their hearts, their arms,
their homes. Um, so it, it's...
it's amazing as much as I...
I would like to say it's only
Sacramento, we're seeing
this across the country. Um,
and so that's... that's really
inspiring because to me that
says good things about people
and it says that there's a
really good future for animals
across this country.
Rob: I'm so glad to hear
you say that.
Phillip: That really inspires
me. That, you know,
again, just to see this
going on across the...
the country.
It's just, you know, there...
there's so many shelters that
are struggling, um, and to see
them empty because these
animals are in homes. I mean,
that's... that's amazing.
I mean, there's, you know,
shel━shelters will always exist.
We'll always be here.
Um, but we can shift the
services that we offer.
I mean, that's really what we're
all kind of in the midst of,
of forecasting, um, in the
middle of a pandemic.
So, it's a little challenging.
Um, but there's definitely, we
would be remiss if we didn't
take this opportunity to see if
there's a better way for us to
do the... the good work of...
of animal sheltering and
animal welfare.
Rob: You talk about how animals
help get us through.
And Phillip, I'm going to just
say, right now━and I think it's
important to bring up because
your mother in law died
from COVID-19. And your
sisters in law had to go
through to see if they had
gotten it or not.
Um, how is your family?
Phillip: We're... we're
doing good. You know,
um, it... it was... it was
challenging, you know.
It was challenging not to...
to be able to one, be in
a different state. Um, and
so us trying to... to be
supportive, uh, to the family
members that were
care━caretaking for my
mother-in-law before
she got sick.
Um, it was difficult.
Um, but again, you know, we...
we... we... we carried on.
Um, and we━again, if there was
some benefit of COVID, it was,
you know, working from home,
um, having each other.
Um, and I'm going to say it and
we shouldn't be surprised having
four little dogs running around
the house.
And... and, uh, keeping us,
keeping our minds, uh, on other
things, because, you know, you
just... COVID-19 has impacted
so many people.
And, um, we just have to keep
carrying on. And it's...
it's tough some days. Um,
but... but we're all doing it.
And... and we're seeing
communities and our community
is... is supporting each other.
And we... we just, we're going
to carry on and we're...
we're going to get through this.
We're... we're going to get
through this.
And we're going to be, we're
going to be better on
the other side.
Rob: I'm so glad to hear...
hear words of encouragement
from you because words of
encouragement are so needed
today. I am so sorry about
your family's loss.
And I'm so grateful that you
had those precious dogs there
to help you cope━
Phillip: Yes.
Rob: Um, because I know
how very real that is.
And I also want to say to you
that I love the challenge and
the... the... the worth of
the charge and answering the
call to improve.
Not just change but improve.
Phillip: Yeah. I...
I appreciate that. And I...
and I know my staff and
our volunteers and our
community, we... we appreciated
that because it's, we're going
to do better. We're...
we're going to continue to
do better again. And I...
I just, I can't drive it home
enough, not only for animals,
but for people too,
because it's... it's us humans
that place the value on
these animals. And, um,
we're... we're going to
do better.
Rob: Thank you Phillip.
Phillip: Thank you.
♪♪
Rob: Coming up: A place where
play and children bloom.
An escape into Fairytale Town
is ahead.
But first, right next to the
iconic playground, is a paradise
of peace.
A pond filled with lotus.
We first met Daisy Mah at
the WPA Rock Garden.
Now this Sacramento legend is
lifting up the lotus for life.
♪♪
Rob: It is so good to see you
again, Daisy.
Daisy: Hey, same here.
Rob: Look at this.
Daisy: Oh. [laughs]
Rob: I mean, this is
spectacular.
Daisy: Yeah.
It's something you won't see
anywhere else but Asia.
Rob: Tell me exactly what
we are looking at.
These are lotus flowers, but
what all are we seeing?
Daisy: Well, this is a lotus
plant that used to live in a
planter about maybe 15 years ago
that was protected by case so
that, um, the ducks wouldn't
consume it.
Cause every part of this plant
is edible.
Rob: The leaves, the seed
pods...
Daisy: The roots. And, uh, it's
an ancient plant from, uh, Asia.
Rob: They're stunning.
They're exquisite.
You may have noticed that Daisy
said a lotus plant.
Daisy: [laughs]
Rob: You are looking at the
person who planted this.
You're responsible for this.
I mean, I just thank you.
It's spectacular.
Daisy: Uh, it's become, uh, a
place where, um, people are
drawn to, you know.
Families come and, uh, elder,
uh, older people who normally
don't come to the park,
come to see the lotus.
Rob: We've seen many
out here today.
Daisy: Yeah. Yeah.
Rob: This started with
one plant.
Daisy: Slowly but surely.
It... it, you know, it started
in one section and then it just
kept going and going.
But that's the nature of
water plants.
They, they're unstoppable.
As long as they have water.
Rob: You know, I have to say
that that says a lot about the
power of one and what one
thing can do. One plant.
Daisy: Yes.
Rob: One thought one action.
Um, one step in the right or
wrong direction can explode
like this.
Daisy: Yes.
Rob: And you mentioned that
many people are calling this
peace pod.
Daisy: Yes. Mhm.
Rob: It would be so nice for
peace to spread that way.
What do you think about
the name?
Peace pond?
Daisy: Oh, I think that's a
beautiful name. It...
it, for years, it was called
the duck pond, which,
you know, it's sort of more,
um, generic. And... but
peace is something we,
I think we are all striving for,
or we would hope for right now
during these unsettling times.
Rob: Tell me about the actual,
the flower.
How long does it last?
Daisy: The actual flower doesn't
last that terribly long, but
it starts, the plant starts
blooming in May.
It likes the warm temperatures
of Sacramento and it will bloom
into October, which is amazing
that it has that long, beautiful
bloom period.
Part of my reason for being a
gardener was to make the
world more beautiful.
I was seeing how, uh, the
immigrants from Southeast Asia
were, um, struggling with, uh,
adapting to their new world.
And I thought, you know,
I want to plant something
that will speak to them.
And... and I think I was
successful.
Rob: This is the best year━
Daisy: Yes.
Rob: That the lotus have
had since planting.
Planted around 2005.
We're in 2020 and look...
I have to tell you something,
the person you're taking a
picture of planted all of these.
I know! [laughter]
I just have to, I have to say
that every time someone
stops to take a picture.
I'm like, it's... she did this!
Daisy: I just planted
one though.
Rob: And they all did this.
Rob: See it's...
it's every... people just
love knowing that.
Daisy: Yeah, everyone can
connect to it.
Visitor: I'm coming from
Visalia. And just come here
to see the lotus flowers.
It reminds me of China
because in China we
have this flower in the
Southern China.
Daisy: Yeah. Yeah.
Visitor: No, it's 3 hours.
3 hours, 17 minutes.
Daisy: Wow.
Visitor:  Yes
Daisy: In Asia this has so
much symbolism.
It, uh, it's a symbol of
reincarnation and purity.
And what the, what I keep
hearing or reading is that it
emerges from the muck and
the mud, pure and beautiful.
And that's kind of what people
should strive for, even though
they might have some negative,
you know, flaws, um, they
can always become better.
Rob: We all get down in the mud.
Daisy: [laughs] We... we can.
Rob: But we can also do this.
Daisy: Yes.
Emerge beautiful.
Rob: What does the Lotus
mean to you personally?
Daisy: It was kind of a present
for me to the community to...
to grow it. And there aren't
many, like I said, there
aren't many places where
you would see lotus.
And so, it was like, I need
to create more beauty.
So, that I think, that helps
our society.
Rob: I would like to ask you, if
you could speak for the lotus
flower, what would you say?
Daisy: To me, it connects us
kind of to the way past in that
we could have something that
is so ancient and primordial
living here and thriving.
So that gives me a little bit of
hope that, you know, our world
hasn't been so inhospitable
that we can, we can't grow
something so ancient.
Rob: And beautiful.
Daisy: And beautiful.
Rob: You know, it's... it's
astounding to me that with all
of the bad and good things that
have happened in this world, the
beauty is what will outlast us.
And the lotus is a great example
of that.
Daisy: Yeah. Well, I've heard
that people come from out
of state to, um, to be
near the lotus.
Rob: Thank you, Daisy.
Daisy: It's my pleasure.
Rob: I'm forever grateful
for you.
Daisy: Yeah. Well, I'm grateful
to be able to speak to you
today.
♪♪
♪♪
(children playing)
♪♪
Rob: Joining us now is
Kevin Smith-Fagan the
Executive Director of
Fairytale Town, a
Sacramento treasure. Kevin,
it's great to see you here.
Kevin: Thanks, Rob.
I appreciate the opportunity
to get to chat a while.
Rob: It's good to see you and
celebrating a big milestone
in a difficult time at
Fairytale Town.
A massive anniversary uh,
marking more than six decades.
Kevin: Yeah. I mean,
four generations of families
now have grown up with
Fairytale Town and the... the
beauty of the park and the
children's experience, I think
is very much the same as
it was for their parents.
And even their grandparents.
It's just a wonderful innocent
place where children have the
run of the free play and all the
imagination and the creativity
that comes with it.
Rob: I went to Fairytale Town
and I tell you, I was so happy
to see an equal mix of
all types of people. And when
we stepped through those
gates, something happened
that I did not expect.
And I truly, for a moment
forgot about all the stress
of the world. Right?
And these kids just went to
their spot where their camps
were, and it was so nice
to see them forget, for a
moment, what's going on.
Kevin: Yeah. Um, it's...
Children have lost so many
opportunities because of the
pandemic, right?
So, it was just a... a, um,
monumental priority for us to
figure out how to safely reopen
so that families and kids would
have an opportunity to go
someplace where they could
be kids and laugh and learn
and jump and exercise their
creativity, and their
imaginations.
So, I'm glad that that was what
you observed.
And another point, Rob, that you
made that I just want to circle
back and stress on, is that
Fairytale Town is for everyone.
All children are welcome here.
It would be enough for them to
come and have a safe place to
have a wonderful time.
But the truth is they are also,
um, learning life lessons and
imagination and creativity and
early literacy and
self-determination. And those
are the... the valuable pieces
that will serve them their
whole lives.
Rob: So true.
And it's also the things that
make it memorable because
they remember learning and
an unintentional way.
They remember things they
learned there.
Not that it was taught, but it
was experienced.
Kevin: I think people are
surprised and shocked to
realize, um, a quarter of a
million people in a typical
year, 250,000 people come to
Fairytale Town.
Rob: That's huge.
Kevin: Yeah.
I mean, it is one of the five
most visited amenities in
our region.
Fairytale Town is built
kid size, right.
And one of the things that is
most valuable, and I don't see
ever-changing about Fairytale
Town, is that the drives
the narrative. Almost
nothing in the park moves.
All the play sets are beautiful
and artistic, and it is...
it is a gorgeous park.
It is so beautiful here
every day.
But when the kid experiences it,
they have to furnish the action
because the play set is, it
doesn't move.
They make the story when they
interact with the place set.
Rob: So many children walk in
from the bubble of their lives.
And I say the bubble because
they have to be with... with
the Corona virus right now.
But when they got to Fairytale
Town, all the cultures just
blended right in. Because we
all are one people and it
was all celebrated there
through the eyes of a child.
And I think when you, when
children... and children are,
I... I believe we should
see like children, right?
We should see through
the eyes of children,
the goodness of all.
And that happens at
Fairytale Town.
Kevin: Most Fairytale Town
visitors are between the ages
of two and nine years old, and
these are absolutely pivotal
developmental years and
their young lives.
Rob: You learned very on in your
career, the importance of early
childhood education being
involved in elementary education
on in... in the East coast
before you moved West.
And you've also been involved
with... with KVIE for more
than a decade.
Our Associate General Manager
heavily involved in the
education department.
You know education.
And early childhood experiences.
What have you learned in this
new role about the importance
of play and education in
this crazy time that we're in?
Kevin: Um, I have learned maybe
more than anything, uh, the
critical importance of free play
in the... the development
of the whole child.
And when you stop to think about
it, a child's experience today
of the world, is a lot different
than it was a generation ago
or two generations ago.
Kids don't interact with━they
don't explore their
neighborhoods the way that
was very common for past
generations.
And there are, I think, um,
compelling reasons why it is
different now and maybe why it
needs to be that way.
But what is lost is that
sense of free play.
And in free play children learn
so much social interaction
development pieces.
They learn how to resolve
conflicts, navigate conflicts.
They learn in free play, uh,
some of the crucial things that
we've talked about, the how to
exercise their imaginations,
how to, um, build on their
own creativity. When you
make up your own games
and you make up the rules and
you change them on the fly,
uh, you're... you're learning.
You're, you're doing problem
solving.
And when you look ahead to
what's going to happen later
when they face temptations in
middle school and high school
and beyond.
And they have to make choices
that start to have real
implications for their lives.
We want kids who know who they
are, and they know that they are
the ones who think for
themselves and control
their decision making.
And that starts in free play.
Rob: You're now the Executive
Director, uh, in 2020.
What a year to take the helm.
Kevin: Yeah. You know, um,
obviously 2020 is unfolding
differently than any of us
would have anticipated.
At its core in a Fairytale Town
is here to serve the needs
of children and families.
So, when we stay focused on that
and we have a great highly
dedicated board and the staff
is amazing, we talk about
how we can be of service
to the community.
They rely on us.
The kids really need these,
uh, constructive outlets
now more than ever.
So, let's just find a way.
We have to find a way
because it's about the kids.
Rob: Positivity spreads
exponentially, uh, always, but
particularly in times of crisis.
And when I walked on to
Fairytale Town grounds, I felt
like I had stepped into joy.
Um, stepped into a promise,
um, that things were going
to be okay.
Cause I saw those kids, all of
whom only saw each other
as other beautiful, bright
little souls.
And that is fostered there, and
nurtured, and we're a better
place because of it. And so,
I thank you for that, Kevin.
Kevin: Um, thank you for
understanding what we're
really about. We have
managed to carve out a
place where innocence is
at a premium.
It--there isn't cynicism inside
the gates of Fairytale Town.
There's no sarcasm inside the
gates of Fairytale Town.
What there is, is caring
for the child.
That's what Fairytale Town
is about.
Just caring for kids.
♪♪
Annc: Murphy Austin Adams
Schoenfeld, LLP, focusing on
business law and commercial
litigation is proud to support
Rob on the Road Region Rising.
More information available at
