Kids...

One interesting thing I've noticed over the past weeks in the chair is that little kids (2-4 and even younger) seem to take to me right away. I've always been kid-friendly and most of them sense it right off except for the most shy, but this has been different. Out of nowhere, while their parents often pretend I'm invisible, these kids wave and talk to me.

The best one was this little guy with big bags under his eyes at the Ivy Tech Library. He had just been to the storytime in the kid area and his Mom carried him with her so she could look for a book. I was near the fiction shelves looking at the graphic novel section to see if there was anything new. I heard him say something like "That man's looking for books." When I turned to look he pointed towards the stairway and said, "She came down the stairs." Sure enough, there was a lady who had just come down the stairs. I agreed with him and then he asked, "Are you looking for books too?" I told him I was, and he nodded then said, "That's my Mommy, she's looking for books." Then his Mom picked him up and asked if he forgot that he was going to be quiet while she looked- he wasn't loud or anything. He apologized and they headed back to the kid area. He waved and said bye so I reciprocated. Poor little guy getting in trouble for talking to the giant in a wheelchair...

Another notable recent kid encounter was at the Tippecanoe Mall. I intensely dislike the Mall. Though it is inside and it has mostly smooth floors. I wanted to use it to get a little exercise the other day (no thanks to my would-be 'helper monkey' who never got back to me) and see how I could deal with all the Mall-people. There were a few little kids who looked and waved while their parents tried to wrangle them or carry them through the flow of people. One little girl was in a big stroller (it may have been one of those 2-kid strollers). Her Mom was slowly pushing the stroller out of a store and I was coming toward them at a respectable pace. She watched me get closer, her bottle tipped up to enjoy the juice or milk or whatever. When I was almost to her she took the bottle from her mouth, waved with the other hand and said "hi." I smiled and returned the "hi" as we passed each other. I heard a squeal of delight from her over my shoulder, I guess made her day...

Encounters like these have helped me get through the many encounters with stupid people. Like the guy whose wheelchair parking tag expired in October last year, but he's still using it. I pointed out to him that it was expired and his reply was "So?" ... A-hole. Or the drunk guy who was ultra-pissed that I asked him to move something so I could get through a doorway. He had obviously placed it there but said he didn't know who put it there and called me "pity party" as he finally moved it (because he was too much of a wuss to throw a punch at a guy in a wheelchair)... A-hole.

I think kids have been more talkative to me because I'm closer to their height in the chair. Instead of towering over them by several times their stature I'm pretty much at their level. I guess they like that. As I've been typing this, a very little girl on her Daddy's lap at another computer has been smiling at me and waving every time I glance up. Kids...