Ellison Park

Yesterday I went with my parents and dogs to ellison park. we were walking along and i see this adoreable little girl walking along with a black lab puppy. She was all alone, so I (being a complete creeper) strike up a conversation with her, we talk about her puppy "Mendon" i was hop=ing to slow her down so that her parents could find her but Mendon runs away from her and off she goes. And  i am thinking that she will get her dog and come baack to her parents, but no, she starts to climb a very steep hill. And usually i would be fine with this, but it was really muddy and slippery up there, she could fall and get hurt or get lost. So i run ahead and find her on the hill, i persuaded her to wait with me until her parents caught up to her (they weren't anywhere in sight but she claimed that they were) so we wait, she chatters on about mud and how much fun it is to squish in and her cute little dog. Eventually her parents find her and we separate without a word. I never learned her name but i think she taught me an important lesson that day. Here is a small child who is willing to talk to a complete stranger. She was curious and adventurous and everything most people aren't. In this age of paranoia we are trained to not talk to strangers and she makes me think that maybe that isn't such a good idea, is it so bad to squish in the mud with a complete stranger and your clumsy puppy? If a little girl had the determination to climb a huge hill then why don't i? What happens when you grow up that makes us want to stay on the path and not play in the mud?

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