2016-09-27



A few days ago I was out for a run after work and while coming up to a crosswalk by a playground, I saw a grey haired man wait with a toddler age boy cradled in one arm and a red plastic Tyco toy car of some sort carried by the other. The light changed a bit before I caught up to them and when they started to cross, I could see the boy squirm in an attempt to turn backwards, with fingers fully spread while also grasping, clawing, gripping at the air, and with vocal cords increasingly strained. He obviously dropped something when they were stopped for the light and was none happy about it.


When I got to the corner myself I began looking around to help out. Maybe a figurine? Rubber ball? Piece of candy? The boy calmed when he saw me begin my search and the man must have noticed the change as he stopped to turn around as well. At that point I was hoping to be able to bring to them whatever was left behind, but I couldn’t find a thing. Just grass and crumbled concrete about the curb. I was a bit dumbstruck. The man picked up on my befuddlement as he first chuckled, then paused a second to let some humor fill into his eyes, and then said, “It‘s a rock.”




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