The saddest story I can think of this morning is a state of affairs that exists today. We live in an age so fraught with danger and crime and suspicion that a wonderful potential is lost. I’m thinking about the effect that strangers can sometimes have on children.
What brings this to mind is something that happened yesterday at a buffet restaurant we visited. I had just passed a counter where yams were on display. (Now, I don’t care for yams, but that’s not the issue.) As I turned the corner of the display, a boy of about 8 or 10 reached in, took the spoon and helped himself to a pretty good helping of the yams.
I so much wanted to ask him about his choice. I was impressed that he knew what they were and that he knew what he wanted and that he took a reasonable amount. I wanted merely to make brief contact. All I could do was smile and move on. How many seniors have felt the same way? Millions, I’d guess.
Children today will never know the potential kindness of strangers. They will never meet the “grandpa wannabes,” or “lonesome grandmas” who only want to share their belief that this old world ain’t all bad. Children should be allowed to know that there are strangers “out there” who could be asked for help or advice or what-have-you. Their “world view” could be larger and more friendly. Their safety is absent, and contact is lost. Their contact is lost, and some togetherness is lost. I mourn for both of us.
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