Sitting here, typewriter keyboard at the ready, and pausing beforehand, there are topics to write about that stream by, each having a particular flavor and energy. I could write about any of these topics and probably will at some time or another.
I see them flash into awareness and then subside, they not carrying enough attractiveness to hold my attention, they not pressing to be verbalized, articulated, brought into the written form, not now, not yet.
Sometimes when the time is right a topic appears, forcefull it is, shouldering its way to the front, demanding to be recognized. But more often a topic to write about will drift into my awareness and then linger there, patiently waiting for me to take up its cause.
Today's topic is blissful innocence, or ignorance. I see it in kids at the airport a lot. The adults, you can easily see it, are burdened with worries and concerns. Their demeanor is that of classic parent- steering, herding, looking ahead at the next barrier/obstacle, strategizing about the next moment, and all the moments after that, endlessly.
The kids, however, tag along in their parent's wake, looking around at everything, distracted, enjoying the journey, unconcerned about what is going to happen next and I'll tell you, every time I encounter kids I praise the Lord because their presence is soooo refreshing.
Parents are tense, every damn one of them, it seems, strictly business, on task. They might actually be somewhat pleasant but at any moment they can shift to curt and cutting, as if being a parent entitles them to operate outside of the boundaries of etiquette. "Get on with it, service person! I'm in a hurry here. Don't you see I have to think for my charges?"
Harshil Gudka- Unsplash.com
What are we, in the military?!
Being a parent also entitles you to holler loudly in public places, startling everybody around (except other parents). "Cassie! Hurry up! Joshua! Over here! Come on, let's GO!"
Kids, however, are my best customers. I don't bother them or pay them too much attention, that would interrrupt (or even worse, threaten to override) their parents' herding behavior. Kids INSTANTLY clear the air of all adult seriousness. I'd high five all the little buggers if I could just for bringing that magic into my day. A silent "Thanks, kid!' and a little nod of acknowledgement is all I can do, when their parents aren't looking (or yelling something).