sad things

i encountered a lost little boy today as i was going out for a drive with my neighbor, i was stopped at the light at new york ave. and prospect when a little boy who looked about 7 or 8 knocked on my window. he was looking for franklin ave. and he was very lost. i sort of panicked because seriously, he could have approached anyone, it seems as though, he was never taught not to talk to strangers. so i told him that he should never talk to strangers like this, and never to ever accept a ride from anyone he didn't know...but since he most definately did not want me to find a policeman for him, i drove him home. it turns out he was 10! yet, he was so little and thin. i felt bad for the poor kid, i mean all that don't talk to strangers/ never accept a ride stuff was drilled into my head as a kid. anyway, i dropped him off at franklin and sterling. and off he went home.

Good thing it was you he stopped indeed! It's sad, but not really surprising, either. There are a lot of kids in our neighborhood that definitely are not being raised the same way I was (or, I take it, you were). That's not to say all of them by any means, but many.

I always marvel at the three-year-olds wandering around out on the street at eleven...midnight...one... (in groups of teenagers/young adults, not alone! But still.)

It's just a matter of perspective. I see babies and toddlers being wheeled into Soda and Sepia for happy hour. Seems socially acceptable to me, but I'm sure housewives in Des Moines would raise an eyebrow (particularly since they're likely unfamiliar with the concept of smoke-free bars).

Well, yes, it is a matter of perspective to a point, but kids who have no concept that there might be something wrong with knocking on the window of a random car and asking for a ride are a little bit different from kids being taken to happy hour in a smoke-free bar with their parents. One might "raise eyebrows" because it's unusual or whatever, but is in essence fine. The other is extremely dangerous and evidences a lack of parental guidance that is...not good, I'm sorry, but it's just not. I don't care if you're from Des Moines or the sketchiest street in CH. Parent your children.

(And, for the record, I am in no way saying that there aren't just as many bad parents in Des Moines! Or Pleasantville, USA.)

It is really nice to know that there are good people in this world.
God Bless you for assisting the lost kid.

actually, last night as i was riding my bike back from the ben folds show, i saw what looked to be a 12 year old boy sleeping on a park bench out on eastern parkway. when it rains, it pours.

Very sad story. He's obviously a neglected kid, yet has learned to cover up for his parents problems (hence, his hesitation to involve the police). I'm with Bluedove on this one: parents should parent. Otherwise, the children suffer.