Friday, March 6, 2009

A Tip, Parents Do Not Loose Your Children at the Zoo

About two years ago we took our 5 year old nephew and 3 year old niece to the zoo. It was hot sunny day so we really needed to have some mouth watering ice cream. We split, I took my niece and sat under the tree full of peacocks. Yes, the peacocks were hiding in the tree. We decided to be brave, and lucky no flying patties or rain from the sky. My husband took our nephew to get the ice cream. I think the ice cream man was making that ice cream from scratch since there were only few people in line and took them forever to deliver that mouth watering ice cream to us. The funny thing was that there were few young Amish girls same age or a bit older as my nephew and they couldn't take their eyes off him. I watched from far away as he would at times put his head up and pretend not to see them. It was kind of cute.

The ice cream was really being made from scratch. We gave up waiting, just sat under the tree and observed by passers and by standers. As the time lapsed, by standers would come and go. Then one cool looking guy, not good looking guy, but cool looking guy made a quick stop to have a cigarette. He played cool, blowing smoke to the sky. Good thing it was to the sky and wind was blowing away from us, because I am allergic to the second hand smoke and I can smell it miles away. This cool looking guy was not approachable, he just looked like one of those if you are lost somewhere, you rather be lost and not ask questions.

We continued to wait. Many people passed by us, especially lot of parents with children - walking, being pushed in strollers or pulled in wagons. As we watched all these people passing by, suddenly a child fell out the wagon. The parents continued to walk not seeing what happened. The victim of the situation was 1.5 or 2 years old girl. The second older child in the wagon, the brother, was reaching out with his hand saying something, but because it was loud no body could hear him. The little girl was stunned for a moment, so she just sat there for few seconds trying to recover. There were lot of people, so no body really noticed anything, just us and the cool guy.

I really underestimated the cool guy, he was actually first to notice and first to yelled out loud - 'excuse me, excuse me' - he at first said in deep cool voice. No response from parents. 'Excuse me, you lost your child' - he finally yelled really loud, and started to move towards the little girl. It all happened in matter of seconds, and since I knew that the cool guy was taking care of the business I just got myself ready just in case. The parents finally turned back, the girl started to cry. The parents picked up this little girl and just walked away - looking kind of embarrassed. Well may be this is why the cool guy is cool guy - he got no thank you, or even a nod of acknowledgment. And I was ready to give him a medal.

The moral to the story - don't underestimate others by their behaviour or look or cool look, they may be first to give you a helping hand after all, and probably the last to be thanked. And the main moral to the story is - strap your children to the wagon, especially when at the zoo, because it isn't just the zoo of animals, but zoo full of people and you can easily loose your child as these parents did.

14 comments:

  1. I wish they'd have thanked him!! I'm feeling bad for the "cool guy" :(

    How have you been Anna? And I hope little Mathew is good too :)


    P.S. grrrr... why didn't they thank the guy??

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  2. WarmSunshine, I wished too. But you know you could see that they were a bit embarrassed, shocked.

    I am doing fine, and very busy. Matthew is now well from flu, but teething so it does not get any better - but he is a little trooper, holding on, and always puts out those precious smiles.

    WarmSunshine thanks for your comments and for consistant visits. I wish I could be like that, but I will have to wait for Matthew when he gets older :).

    Thanks again, Anna :)

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  3. Hey Anna!

    Incredible story! And I agree with you: we shouldn't judge people by their looks...it means nothing!

    Today, over lunch, a friend of mine was telling me a story about a woman who was abandoned by the taxi driver in the middle of a dangerous neighbourhood...she waited for him a long time and then decided to get out of the taxi. She saw this man who had a dingy looks, she was afraid of him, nevertheless she went to him and asked him for help. He did help her without asking a question and took her home.

    The zoo may be a nice place to visit (and you know I am not a big fan of it) however it may become a nightmare for less attentive parents!

    Great story, girl!

    Cheers

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  4. I loved this story, Anna, although, like Max, I'm not a fan of Zoos. So often, we judge the surface appearance, and totally miss the heart beneath. Sad, that they didn't thank him, but I'm hopeful seeing the little girl safe would please him.

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  5. Another version of "don't judge a book by it's cover.! Well done Anna! Well done!
    Sandi

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  6. Hi Anna, thanks for visiting my little corner! I like your stories. Yes, creepy people often turn out to be nice, and nice ones turn out to be creepy. So the kids need to be locked up. ;-)

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  7. Aw, poor guy! That's a sweetly told tale, I like your writing style. Shame about the ice-cream, though..

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  8. Quick tip: I think you meant stunned, not stunt.

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  9. Hey Max thanks for sharing your story. You know what happened to this women was scary. What is wrong with this world sometimes?

    Yes yes I know you are not big fan of the zoo, but you are right it is zoo full of animals and people, lol. I am surprised that children didn't have any harness. You know beside falling out, someone could just grab her away.

    Thanks Max my friend, your comments are always appreciated.

    Anna :)

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  10. Carol, you are not a fan of zoo, ohhhh, lol, its okay we all have our preferences, like I am not a person who would actually own a pet :). I run away from dogs, and when the cat looks at me I get chills. Yes it was sad, but at the same time, yes she was safe and sound. Thanks Carol for your comment, and sorry for late reply. Anna :)

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  11. Thanks Sandi, that could have been my title, lol. Anna :)

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  12. Thanks Marvin the Martian, you are right, its funny how it works. And no problem, I liked your little blog corner, lol. Thanks for sharing your opinion, Anna :)

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  13. Thanks Shrinky, its okay we all got our ice cream after all, and ate like we never seen one, lol. Thanks again, Anna :)

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  14. Hey William thanks for the tip. Appreciated. Anna :)

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And now lets hear your blobbing, lol!