05/08/2025
Recent Happenings - Teens Edition
I was walking down a street lined with brownstones and noticed a boy of 14 or 15 a few houses up ahead. His trajectory was leading him towards one of the brownstone's fenced-in patios. As he approached the fence his pace slowed slightly to consider before he took a few quick shuffling steps, placed one hand on top of the fence, and hopped over it. His landing was not graceful. Afterwards, he didn't look over his shoulder to check if anyone had witnessed his athletic feat and I found his lack of self-consciousness to be admirable. I wondered if it was the first time he had ever performed this maneuver. Maybe until a recent growth spurt the possibility of the jump had never even occurred to him. He opened the door of the patio entrance and walked into what appeared to be a beautifully decorated home.
A group of teen girls walked past with ice cream cones. One of them was defending (rightfully) the acquisition of their sweet treats and said "It's fine, ice cream is basically just milk."
My dog was stopping to sniff another dog whose owner was a kid of 12 or 13. I only had 2 or 3 inches on him, but he was thin and gangly with a voice that was still very much the voice of a boy. With excellent diction and enunciation he asked me "Say, what breed is your dog?" We traded a few "tell me about your dog" questions before parting ways. The whole exchange felt like he was practicing talking to an adult for an assignment. I found the experience to be delightful and if he had asked me any questions about what it's like to be a 40 year old man I would have answered him as honestly as I could.
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