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Oh, man.
Today, I got a lot done. I went to a farmers' market and looked around; I handed out flyers; I met a very nice tourist couple and had tea with them; I took them to the metro and saw them to their destination.
Then. Oh, then! I was wondering if I should have gone with them, rather than going home, but I'm SO glad I decided to go home. I took the metro to the stop nearest my residence, got off, and took the escalator to the surface. I had decided to pick up a few groceries. Again, I'm glad I did.
Now, the way the metro works around here, you take the escalator to the upper level, then the stairs or an escalator to ground level. As I took the escalator to ground level, a toddler decided he was going to play on it (he was at the top of the escalator). I wondered why the hell his parents were allowing him to do this.
Well. I got to the top of the escalator, and I saw nobody who appeared to be in charge of the child. I didn't see any adults who looked like they could have been his parents (the toddler was Asian).
As I watched, he ran to a bike that was chained to a nearby fence, and examined it. Then he ran for the escalator again. He was having a great time, and NOBODY was keeping an eye on him.
His antics attracted the attention of another woman, and then a man with two children of his own, who stopped the little boy from trying to play on the escalator. The little boy ran for the bike again, and I walked over and asked (in Czech) where his parents were. He breathed out a laugh, running from me and right...
Over the train tracks. Fortunately for all of us, no trains were approaching. The woman and the man with his children were all VERY concerned by this point, and so was I. I was the closest to the kid, and I followed him across the train tracks, down the street, ACROSS THE STREET (no cars, thank God), and down the other side. I was certain, by now, that I knew where he was going, and I was right.
He ran - oh, how that kid could run! - into a market owned by an Asian family. This market has the doors wide open unless the weather is terrible, and fruit and vegetables line the walls of the hall leading into the building. The kid stopped somewhere around the spinach, and I asked him if his parents were there. By this time, the woman and the man had entered the market, and we all pointed to the kid.
I walked up to one of the men and asked, "Is that your son? He was over near the metro." I turned to see that the kid was gone again - but this time, two men and a woman were sprinting out the door. I followed them, and saw the woman who had followed me standing on the sidewalk, looking down the street. When I got near, she turned to me and said, "It's okay. She found him."
She certainly had. The woman returned, clutching the toddler in a death grip. He wasn't laughing anymore, but making a grizzling sound.
Good God. I can only guess that it was a case of everyone thinking someone else was watching him. The kid crossed the street, crossed the train tracks, played on an escalator - he could have decided to cross the next street over, which is EXTREMELY busy, where drivers often go much faster than the legal limit.
And that was my adventure today.
Today, I got a lot done. I went to a farmers' market and looked around; I handed out flyers; I met a very nice tourist couple and had tea with them; I took them to the metro and saw them to their destination.
Then. Oh, then! I was wondering if I should have gone with them, rather than going home, but I'm SO glad I decided to go home. I took the metro to the stop nearest my residence, got off, and took the escalator to the surface. I had decided to pick up a few groceries. Again, I'm glad I did.
Now, the way the metro works around here, you take the escalator to the upper level, then the stairs or an escalator to ground level. As I took the escalator to ground level, a toddler decided he was going to play on it (he was at the top of the escalator). I wondered why the hell his parents were allowing him to do this.
Well. I got to the top of the escalator, and I saw nobody who appeared to be in charge of the child. I didn't see any adults who looked like they could have been his parents (the toddler was Asian).
As I watched, he ran to a bike that was chained to a nearby fence, and examined it. Then he ran for the escalator again. He was having a great time, and NOBODY was keeping an eye on him.
His antics attracted the attention of another woman, and then a man with two children of his own, who stopped the little boy from trying to play on the escalator. The little boy ran for the bike again, and I walked over and asked (in Czech) where his parents were. He breathed out a laugh, running from me and right...
Over the train tracks. Fortunately for all of us, no trains were approaching. The woman and the man with his children were all VERY concerned by this point, and so was I. I was the closest to the kid, and I followed him across the train tracks, down the street, ACROSS THE STREET (no cars, thank God), and down the other side. I was certain, by now, that I knew where he was going, and I was right.
He ran - oh, how that kid could run! - into a market owned by an Asian family. This market has the doors wide open unless the weather is terrible, and fruit and vegetables line the walls of the hall leading into the building. The kid stopped somewhere around the spinach, and I asked him if his parents were there. By this time, the woman and the man had entered the market, and we all pointed to the kid.
I walked up to one of the men and asked, "Is that your son? He was over near the metro." I turned to see that the kid was gone again - but this time, two men and a woman were sprinting out the door. I followed them, and saw the woman who had followed me standing on the sidewalk, looking down the street. When I got near, she turned to me and said, "It's okay. She found him."
She certainly had. The woman returned, clutching the toddler in a death grip. He wasn't laughing anymore, but making a grizzling sound.
Good God. I can only guess that it was a case of everyone thinking someone else was watching him. The kid crossed the street, crossed the train tracks, played on an escalator - he could have decided to cross the next street over, which is EXTREMELY busy, where drivers often go much faster than the legal limit.
And that was my adventure today.
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