Today I took an adventure into the city to get panniers for friend’s bike. It took a while to get there, because we weren’t sure exactly where REI was. My friend spent an hour or two choosing, negotiating, and finding the best way to buy the packs. In that time, I
- Sat in the comfy camping chairs
- Smiled at various toddlers
- Stole my friend’s bike and rode around the store for a while
- Sat on a footstool and practiced calling (a contradance)
- Smiled sympathetically at a crying toddler
When we went to leave, we discovered that in fact bikes are not allowed on the Green Line trains, despite the fact that we took it on the Green Line out to REI. But the MBTA guy was nice about it, so we weren’t that pissed. It was an excuse to go for a walk on this lovely day over to the Orange Line!
There are annoying things that children do: crying or whining incessantly, being rebelliously stubborn. But kids also do some really enlightened things that most unfortunately stop doing when they grow up: interacting with strangers, playing in public, sitting down whenever & wherever they feel like it. As adults, we can choose to readopt some of these harmless childlike behaviors. We can also choose to banish from our behavior those traits which we don’t want to have. Too many people uphold the undesirable childlike behaviors and forsake the desirable ones. Let’s do it right! Go, be silly in public!
