—by Sherrilynn "Sheba" Rawson

February 29th only comes around once every four years, so it's only fitting that something special happens on such a special day. This February 29th, students at Woodburn's Nellie Muir Elementary were treated to a visit from members of the capo crew--Rob Jerand, Matt Talley, and Frank Oteiza--as they celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday and Read Across America week.

The 502 students at Nellie Muir Elementary School had a worthy goal this month--read at least 200,000 pages for the month of February. They had been told that if they met their goal, they would get a special surprise. Fortunately for the students, they were match fit when it came to reading, and together they logged over 300,000 pages of reading in February. Their treat? a visit from representatives of the Timbers Army capo crew.

Braving freezing temperatures and a crazy busy schedule, Ice Funk, PC, and Fog spent the day at Nellie Muir. They settled right in, selecting a few of their favorite (or newly favorite) Dr. Seuss titles to read in fifteen different classrooms. Many of the children celebrated the occasion by wearing green in honor of the Timbers Army. Since most of the students are bilingual, it was also a treat to have Frank reading a couple of Dr. Seuss titles that had been translated into Spanish.

After their whirlwind classroom reading visits, it was time for a well-earned lunch. The boys stopped in at Luis's Taqueria, *the* go-to spot for Mexican cuisine in town. Although I can't remember what everyone ordered, I'm sure the crew would agree that it was universally a hit. (Yours truly ordered the birria de chivo, in anticipation of the upcoming match against Chivas USA.)

Next, it was back to school and into the gymnasium, where over 500 students packed in and awaited leadership from the capo crew. Accompanied by student helpers, the boys led several rousing cheers, including "PTFC," "Somos Timbers," and "When I Root I Root for the Timbers. " After they understood that yes, they were actually being encouraged to jump and clap and sing, the students enthusiastically responded. Some even approached the capos afterward for autographs, and staff members eagerly posed for pictures with the crew. The students who were scarfed that day cherished their new TA gear and wore it proudly back to class.

It takes a special group of people to volunteer several hours of their day to go out of their way to read in classrooms and lead a gymnasium full of school children in cheers. From the bottom of my heart, thanks, guys, for making the day such a special one for so many youngsters. It's already a soccer mad town; now I know that for many of these children, they will also be able to say with pride: when I root, I root for the Timbers.

Thank you, Rob, Matt, and Frank. You guys rock!