Stranger Danger

So when I was out walking today I passed a little girl about 3 or 4 years old standing on the strip of grass between the sidewalk and a parked car. She was apparently waiting for her dad to let her in the car and he was just coming out the front door of the house. When I got about 15 feet from her, she ran back to her father and latched onto his leg like I was her worst nightmare come to life. I said, “Don’t worry, I’m not a stranger.” But then I had to add, “Well, yes, I guess I am. But I’m not a dangerous one.” Her dad laughed and so did I but it also made me a little sad that the days seem to be pretty much gone when I can yammer with some random kid when I’m walking past. A couple of years ago I was in a store and having a marvelous chat with some little boy about an animated movie he wanted his dad, who was only a few feet away, to buy. His dad whisked the kid away with a lecture about talking to strangers. I could become paranoid and say it’s me but it probably isn’t. I remember when one of our granddaughters was about two and our family was at a large library in another city. She climbed up on the lap of some woman we didn’t know and announced, “I’m Ella. What’s your name?” She’s turning 12 now and can’t believe she did that. There was obviously no danger and the woman was, though at first taken aback, quite pleased to have a child interested in talking to her. I think there’s a lesson somewhere in this story. I just can’t figure out exactly what it is.

Wolf in sheep’s clothing photo courtesy SarahRichterArt at Pixabay.com