The moral of this story: ride my bike more.

So I was riding my bike today, making a delivery for my little home-based business, and it was very providential, because at 1pm in south Texas, I normally would drive my blood-sucking-mobile for comfort.

But as I made the corner, there was a little boy running along, barefoot, tapping one half of an aluminum curtain rod on the sidewalk, not an adult in sight. He was probably about 18-20 months old. I don't think he could have been two years. I asked him where his mommy was, and he didn't know. He couldn't tell me his name or where he lived, and seemed unfamiliar with where he was.

Then a man was standing by his doorway watching us, and I asked him if he was his daddy, and he said he wasn't, he was there visiting his aunt. I started riding up to homes where a car was parked and ringing doorbells, no one recognized the child.

Finally, about 15 minutes after all this began, the mother came running around the corner. She was carrying a cell phone, probably calling the police for help. I told her it was okay, I wasn't going to let anything happen to him. She said he had gone into the garage and apparently found something to climb up on and open the door to get out. I felt so badly for her, knowing that terrifying fear from having those nightmares about not being able to a child.

And the moral is...Ilsa should ride her bike more. I doubt I would have noticed this child from inside my car, windows up, radio blasting.

I'm glad you were there to help.

:yourock:

:applause:

Things like this always make my blood boil. I know how kids are, wandering off at that age without a clue in the world.

But there's no excuse for an inattentive parent/guardian.

minutes she spent going through the house, looking for him. Who knows, maybe she was in the bathroom or doing something that cause her to get distracted. I felt horrible about the boy being out, yet I know that sometimes the distraction can be caused by fatigue. I was mad, worried, scared, and getting sunburned too!

But she was terrified, and that's a good thing, because now she knows what he is capable of doing to free himself. I bet she has nightmares for years about it. I never lost my kid and I still had dreams about trying to find my children. Occasionally, I still do.

Let this be a lesson: free yourself from your metal cages. Viva la transportation revelucion!