June 15, 2005
do not lick this couch
street couch, Canon Digital Rebel
I took BART (the San Francisco subway) recently and as I waited for the train, I noticed a small boy and his dad negotiating about the appropriate way to interact with the escalator.
"Stop touching it and putting your hand in your mouth!" he said exasperated. "It's a health hazard!"
"At least he's not licking the handrail, right?" the dad said to me a little embarrassed.
The little boy looked at me shyly.
"It's tempting, isn't it?" I said.
And he giggled and said, "Yep."
I can relate to the desire to break all the rules and have a moment of joyous disregard.
Each moment has its tempting little treats that summon and call for our embrace. But the
strong voices of reason stand like storm troopers guarding the gates of our potentially reckless impulse.
Oh my god. Do you remember the ice sculpture in the french quarter? you had a friend that worked in the gallery and she had to tell a man, "excuse me sir, please do not lick the sculptures". Happy...
love james
I love that story. Little boys are the best.
Posted by: Ali at June 16, 2005 02:13 PMTee hee. You are exactly the person a kid wants to meet. Please never grow up!
Posted by: Anja at June 16, 2005 12:52 PMBeautiful story.
I also find elevator buttons extremely tempting. Sometimes when I'm going up to the 19th floor in my office building and nobody else is in there with me, I PUSH EVERY SINGLE BUTTON. I have to. They're all just so ... there. And they're fat. And they light up and everything.
Posted by: Maggie at June 16, 2005 12:50 PMThanks for the post. I remember waiting for the metro in Montreal with my family and my 3-year-old daughter unable to resist the urge of rolling around on the smooth concrete of the platform and, yes, even licking it a couple times before I convinced her to stand up. I didn't totally comprehend the beauty of the moment until reading your post. My day is brighter now after this visit, as always.
Posted by: nina at June 16, 2005 11:47 AMThis is great! It reminds me of a snippet from a Hugh Prather book I read waaaaaay back in the '80's where he comments on standing in a long bank line and notices that a little boy was the only person who had the courage to end the tedium and seek a new experience by lying down and writhing on the cool marble floor.
Posted by: chicamaravilla at June 16, 2005 09:46 AMyes! my best friend was laughing so hard just the other day because i told him i wanted to eat my patio flowers they were so pretty. it's like the story of the boy who got the drawing or poem, i think is how it goes, from shel silverstein, and promtly eats it. when you're into it, sometimes you have to take a bite.
Posted by: lena at June 16, 2005 09:12 AMI love this post... I think sometimes parents are so worried about what being judged by others that they forget to allow their children to be children. Anytime a kid can be just that is wonderful. Good for you girl.
Jenn
Posted by: jenn at June 16, 2005 08:22 AMlove this kind of random interaction with kids....
Posted by: Fern Hilyard at June 16, 2005 07:19 AMThank you for your lovely post!
It brought me back a little taste of SF, one of the coolest, loveliest places in the world.
I´m getting a little teary now. ;)
Posted by: Cin at June 16, 2005 04:02 AMThanks for the post today - it really made me smile after the last few weeks I've had - so thanks again - keep up the great work
Cheers Tonestar
Posted by: Tonestar at June 16, 2005 12:19 AMhilarious!!! My fruity kids are ALWAYS licking something gross!
Posted by: joy madison at June 15, 2005 06:40 PMSweet temptations, where would I be without you?
Posted by: ashley at June 15, 2005 12:52 PM