It'll Be All Right

I went for a short jog around Alta Vista Park this afternoon; my last run before the half marathon on Sunday. Weekday afternoons are an odd time because it's when children are all leaving school, and seeing packs of kids walking down the street is a pretty rare sight in a major city like San Francisco. You almost forget what they look like, or that they even exist.

On this particular sunny afternoon there was a whole pack of them at the corner of the park, huddled around a few adults, ostensibly there for a party or birthday of some sort. About eleven or twelve of them were together, doing normal kid stuff, but I also spotted a straggler a few dozen feet from the main group. He was maybe ten years old, chubby, and shy-looking. In between glances back at the main group he kept his head down and kicked a piece of stick around the sidewalk.

Kick... shuffle shuffle shuffle. Peer back at the group. Head down. Kick... shuffle shuffle shuffle...

I remember being that kid.

Here's what I didn't do: Break stride. Open my mouth. Make eye contact. I didn't do a thing except send some vibes out into the universe -- vibes that I hope made their way through the magnetic field and into this lonely little boy's psyche, one way or the other.

The message was: "It's gonna be all right, bud. Everything is going to be fine."

Courtesy Fred Canonge link

P.S. I'll be in Portland this weekend. See you there, party people.
P.P.S. Some tunes to help you dissociate.