.
this was yesterday--minor incident on its face, but i can't get it outta my mind.
i'm at the grocery store, squatting down and reading a label. i sense a blur of motion to my left, and all of a sudden this little girl of maybe 3 or 4 is all over me, jumping up and down and pounding my back in an exaggerated gesture of affection--you know, like kids do at that age.
she's adorable, big smile on her face, and i smile back, give her a little hug, and just as i'm in the middle of saying, "well, hi there, sweetheart, what's your na--"
another blur of motion in my periphery, and the kid is yanked away from me into the protective grasp of, i assume, her mother, who turns without even a glance in my direction and walks back to her cart, all the while admonishing the child to never, ever talk to strangers. she looks back over the woman's shoulder at me as they turn the corner, but she's not smiling anymore.
welcome to the brave new world, kid.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Well, most parents are scared of me...but the kids are oddly fascinated. Must be the odd shaped head.
Of course, at Bristol Farms or something similarly upscale, it is the nanny warning the child not to talk to strangers.
dipshit should have kept a better eye on her kid.
she should have also apologized to you on behalf of her kid.
make no mistake--i love children, hell, i was a fucking nanny for a year--but geez.
noblesavage: yeah, definitely the shape of your head.
judi: actually, i'd have preferred it if she'd held back, smiled indulgently and allowed her little girl to make a new friend, and believe--at least for a little while longer--that the world will always love her back.
Ah, yes - another future meth addicted schizophrenic in the making. Makes ya all warm and fuzzy inside, don't it?
Unpleasant for you and potentially traumatic for the little girl. reminds me of the story of the little boy who had it so hammered into his head in school that you should never let adults touch your body, that he went into hysterics, running to his parents and screaming "Grandpa touched my body, grandpa touched my body!" when his visiting grandfather picked him up and gave him a big hug.
Sad. This is the way this culture lives now.
luis: i always like it when we're on the same page.
will: it's sad as hell--we're all scared sheep these days.
Post a Comment