Waski_the_Squirrel
July 16th, 2016, 03:45 PM
Today, I was downtown. My vision was to eat a late lunch there, grocery shop, and go home. While headed up Main Street toward the restaurant, I looked to my left. Main Street is 1 block off the highway, and it's a busy highway. There was a semi stopped oddly in the highway right at the intersection, a man looking under the wheel wells, and a little kid running down the street toward me in tears. The kid couldn't have been more than 2.
So, with a kid running in the street, he was my priority. Of course, the kid was scared of me and I couldn't get close, but I figured if I stayed near him, maybe he would run home, and traffic would be more likely to see me than a kid. (In retrospect, it might have led to awkward questions, but I wasn't thinking about that at the time.)
Luckily a woman stopped, and the kid let her pick him up. She got enough out of him to figure out where he lived, so we went and banged on the door. The grandmother was there with what looked like four other little kids. She said she had been in the shower and he must have gotten out.
I then went to the truck driver. The man was in tears and one of my students was with him trying to calm him down. Someone from the gas station across the street moved his truck to the side of the highway.
So, a few lessons here. One is these little kids can move fast and far and you need a way to keep track of them. Also, do not text and drive. If that truck driver had checked his cell phone or his radio, he would have killed that little kid. He's the real hero of this story because it was his attention to the road that protected that little kid's life.
So, with a kid running in the street, he was my priority. Of course, the kid was scared of me and I couldn't get close, but I figured if I stayed near him, maybe he would run home, and traffic would be more likely to see me than a kid. (In retrospect, it might have led to awkward questions, but I wasn't thinking about that at the time.)
Luckily a woman stopped, and the kid let her pick him up. She got enough out of him to figure out where he lived, so we went and banged on the door. The grandmother was there with what looked like four other little kids. She said she had been in the shower and he must have gotten out.
I then went to the truck driver. The man was in tears and one of my students was with him trying to calm him down. Someone from the gas station across the street moved his truck to the side of the highway.
So, a few lessons here. One is these little kids can move fast and far and you need a way to keep track of them. Also, do not text and drive. If that truck driver had checked his cell phone or his radio, he would have killed that little kid. He's the real hero of this story because it was his attention to the road that protected that little kid's life.