Tuesday, August 21, 2007
What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?
I saw a young child today, probably around 2 years old, sitting next to her mother on a plane from Chicago to Baltimore. As I always do with children, I smiled and waved and said "hi" in my most childish and playful voice. Most kids are quick to repsond to me with a smile, a wave, by hiding their face or some combination of the above. This kid was different.
Her stare would scare most people. Her brow was furrowed, her eyes were squinted and her lips crunched together as if to say, "I am not going to smile or wave, big guy, so you best be getting to your seat". Think, this kid, though older and slightly angrier looking. After about 10 seconds of feverishly waving, smiling and saying "hello" in my best kid voice, I glanced to her right to find her mom watching the whole thing and just laughing it up. I couldn't help but burst into laughter myself in aknowledgement of my participation in this comedic scene. The child's mother and I caught eyes and we laughed even more. It was a nice way to start my flight back home.
Throughout the entire time her mom and I were looking at each other and cracking up, the kid was stoically staring back at me, with the same, furrowed brow, squinted eyes and tense lips. Never broke stride, never wavered...just stared right through me, my laughter and all. It made for an even funnier experience as mom and I kept moving our eyes from each other to the kid and back. The laughs were loud and uncontrollable and this point and other people started to join in. Not the kid though. She was a barrell of seriousness on the end of a stick and wasn't about to give us the pleasure. Or had she?
Laughter rules, kids drool. Or something like that anyway.
Her stare would scare most people. Her brow was furrowed, her eyes were squinted and her lips crunched together as if to say, "I am not going to smile or wave, big guy, so you best be getting to your seat". Think, this kid, though older and slightly angrier looking. After about 10 seconds of feverishly waving, smiling and saying "hello" in my best kid voice, I glanced to her right to find her mom watching the whole thing and just laughing it up. I couldn't help but burst into laughter myself in aknowledgement of my participation in this comedic scene. The child's mother and I caught eyes and we laughed even more. It was a nice way to start my flight back home.
Throughout the entire time her mom and I were looking at each other and cracking up, the kid was stoically staring back at me, with the same, furrowed brow, squinted eyes and tense lips. Never broke stride, never wavered...just stared right through me, my laughter and all. It made for an even funnier experience as mom and I kept moving our eyes from each other to the kid and back. The laughs were loud and uncontrollable and this point and other people started to join in. Not the kid though. She was a barrell of seriousness on the end of a stick and wasn't about to give us the pleasure. Or had she?
Laughter rules, kids drool. Or something like that anyway.
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