Above image taken at King’s Manor when I worked there.
The occasion: 4th of July Celebration 2004
Kids say the darndest things.
Last night I had a flashback to an incident that taught me never to take a kid’s word as gospel truth.
Here is a good way to keep policemen from asking you what you’re doing with a stranger’s kid in your car:
When my sister Laurel was in college at Central WA State College (now Central WA University) in Ellensburg, I drove over to spend some time with her. At one point she asked me (or I decided) to go to Safeway and get some groceries.
Laurel’s next door neighbor had a little girl of about six or seven years old. She hung around with me off and on whenever I visited Laurel, so when I left Laurel’s home and headed out to get my car, the little girl spotted me out front, asked where I was going, and then asked if she could go with me. I said, “Well, sure, as long as you get your mother’s approval. Go ahead and ask her. I’ll wait for you.”
The little girl went into her house for the appropriate amount of time, and then came back out and told me she had gotten the go ahead. I figured she had received the required (and fully expected) approval from her mom, so I opened the passenger side car door, let her get in, and asked her to fasten her seat belt. She did, and off we went.
It only took us about five minutes to get to Safeway, and five to get back, and we were in Safeway for about 45 minutes, I guess.
When I finished shopping, we hopped into the car and headed back for Laurel’s.
When we got to her block, there were police cars EVERYWERE, and neighbors, Laurel, and the girl’s mom were anxiously looking around. Something very terrible had occurred in our absence, I figured, so I slowed down until a policeman waved me ahead. I parked in the parking spot and got out, and so did the little girl. A collective gasp went up all around.
OH MY GOD!
THEY HAD ALL BEEN LOOKING FOR THE LITTLE GIRL!
Obviously, Laurel and the girl’s mother were immediately relieved; the rest were either relieved or suspicious! (I figured the police were a little of both!). I was apoplectic, of course, hugely embarrassed, and yes, the police did want some information!
I explained what had happened; that the little girl had gone in to ask her mother for permission, at my direction, and had come back out saying she had, so “I just figured —” and that’s how I learned my lesson about making darned sure, from then on, that I always had direct, face-to-face confirmation from a parent to go anywhere with their kids!!!
I don’t know if anything like this has ever happened to you, but if it hasn’t, now you know what to watch for!
EEEGADS!!!!!
