As I was leaving my neighborhood yesterday morning I stopped at the end of a westbound street and a young girl, maybe 5, was playing at the street corner, actually in the street. Alone.
I grew concerned and turned off my noisy diesel truck to talk to her. This girl looked a little too vulnerable, absolutely no one in sight at a normaLLy busy residential intersection.
From the cab of my truck I asked her if her momma knew she was playing in the street and where did she live.
She said "Yes, it was okay if she played in the street" and pointed east. I turned around to look then asked her, "Where the red pickup is?" and she shook her head yes.
Without saying anything else I put on the truck's four way flashers and started walking toward the house climbing the steep driveway. I think by this point the little barefooted girl realized she just might be in trouble for playing in the street. She came walking faster and zoomed around me in through the front door as I was knocking on the door twice.
I could hear a mumbled conversation inside the house, and then a disheveled just-woke-up mother appeared and as I was trying to eXplain the street situation she was suddenly on the floor struggling with a veRy happy bulldog who was eXcited to see me and trying to escape out the front door. The mother eXplained that the little girl should not have been alone and thanked me and introduced me to Lulu the bulldog. I remarked how just a few hours ago I had been doing an art project drawing a bulldog, the school mascot for Borger High School. I rarely meet bulldogs and this was the first time I had ever drawn one.
I returned to find my truck safely blinking, window down, keys stiLL in the ignition, and then it was off to the diner for breakfast.
I grew concerned and turned off my noisy diesel truck to talk to her. This girl looked a little too vulnerable, absolutely no one in sight at a normaLLy busy residential intersection.
From the cab of my truck I asked her if her momma knew she was playing in the street and where did she live.
She said "Yes, it was okay if she played in the street" and pointed east. I turned around to look then asked her, "Where the red pickup is?" and she shook her head yes.
Without saying anything else I put on the truck's four way flashers and started walking toward the house climbing the steep driveway. I think by this point the little barefooted girl realized she just might be in trouble for playing in the street. She came walking faster and zoomed around me in through the front door as I was knocking on the door twice.
I could hear a mumbled conversation inside the house, and then a disheveled just-woke-up mother appeared and as I was trying to eXplain the street situation she was suddenly on the floor struggling with a veRy happy bulldog who was eXcited to see me and trying to escape out the front door. The mother eXplained that the little girl should not have been alone and thanked me and introduced me to Lulu the bulldog. I remarked how just a few hours ago I had been doing an art project drawing a bulldog, the school mascot for Borger High School. I rarely meet bulldogs and this was the first time I had ever drawn one.
I returned to find my truck safely blinking, window down, keys stiLL in the ignition, and then it was off to the diner for breakfast.
Posts
9 comments:
Well done Mr ESB . . . .
And well done for drawing a Bulldog, I suspect if I did it the beast would turn into a mad Zombie child eating Bulldog with scary eyes and pointy teeth. This is one reason I will never make it as an artist and will never be asked to draw the Queens portrait.
Rob: Speaking of zombies, I saw where they had discovered a brain eating amoeba. So I think it would be acceptable for you (from a skientific viewpoint) to draw a combination picture of the queen mum, an amoeba, and a zombie visiting Mumbai.
I forgot "mumbling" in that sentence.
That was a good thing you did, ya never know these days.
fmcgmccllc: I like little folks a lot. I probably should have been a Kindergarten Teacher like my mother. I just the call of science too strongly ...
You are a brave man stopping to speak to a small child - these days you can end up in the slammer. I would - and sometimes do - the same thing.
I decided to take the risk but I also made sure that I never walked towards her, walking diagonally across the street to the driveway.
You are very brave, a kid like that might bite.
Julie: You are most correct. In hindsight I should have caLLed the city's animal control service. She was also playing underneath some tree branches that stick out into the roadway too far, so I could have caLLed the deforestation part of the city government too. My truck is actuaLLy too high and the branches too low for me to make the opposite trip on that street. With aLL of our recent rain it wiLL only get worse.
Post a Comment