sweetest reminders..

i was riding the bus today and it was well-packed. there were random conversations going on all around me but a child's voice particularly caught my attention. he looked about 5 or 6 years old. he was talking to an asian lady next him and asking her if she would come to the fountain with him today. he seemed to know her very well and was saddened to hear that she had to go to work today and could not go to the fountain with him. he then began to ask people on the bus what their names were and where they lived. he asked, "do you live in downtown?" one of the men answered yes. the other, an older gentleman, said he lived far from here. so the boy asked, "do you live in san bernardino?" (what child knows where san bernardino is let alone know that it is far from downtown??) it was then i realized that he did not know the lady next to him but was inviting her on his little excursion with (what looked like) his gpa for the simple reason that he just wanted her to come.

he continued his conversations with the three individuals he had picked out on the crowded bus. but [too] soon it was his stop and he turned to say bye to everyone. before he left, he turned to older gentleman and kissed him on the cheek. when the guy didn't return the favor, the boy asked for a kiss and the older gentleman turned and kissed him on the cheek. the boy left the bus and it just seemed so much emptier.

if everyone reached out like this little boy, what a wonderful world we'd be living in.