Home Front

Poor Silver Queenie is mucho ill today. Sick all over is my diagnosis. She was supposed to take care of EL-Sea and her friend Kelly, but that’s hard for her to do when she is bedridden. I’m taking the day off and playing Mr. Mom. I took the little rats to school early and let them run willy-nilly throughout the school playground. Kids are fun to watch, the way they interact, the way they run, and the way they play. Kids walk up to other anonymous kids and say, “Hey, you wanna play?” No pretensions, no hidden agendas, they just want a friend.

When did adults lose that ability? Perhaps, it happened when we developed self-conscious tendencies. Interacting with passerby-ers leaves you open to rejection and rejection can be painful, even from strangers. An act as harmless as asking a fellow customer at the grocery store which brand of salsa is spicier leaves you prone to a non-acknowledging cold shoulder from your brethren customer. It’s not worth the vulnerability; it’s easier to not make eye contact and buy a dozen jars of salsa.

It’s too bad. Imagine how much more enjoyable a trip to the DMV could be if we were more like children. Tap the shoulder of the person in front of you and say, “Hey, you wanna talk?” Pass the time and maybe make a new acquaintance.

For me, I need something first, something that will act as a shield incase I get rebuffed. Depending upon how gregarious I’m feeling at the moment, eye contact can be adequate. If a stranger shuts me out after eye contact, I can console myself that they are the one at fault and they shouldn’t have locked eyes with me if they didn’t want me to say, “yo.” Comments of fact or inquisitiveness can also be a shield. “Damn, this line is moving slow.” “You must’ve seen that killer deal on tuna, also.” “In your opinion, which of these saws would be the best for, say, cutting through human bone?” There is an obvious purpose behind these statements that masks the underlying prodding for interaction.

Being “daddy,” I still have a lot to teach El-Sea, but I need to recognize that I can learn from her just as well.
...and so it was written, shenry at 4/21/2003 10:45:00 AM.
...and so it was appended with .