A café, two women, one child.
“Yesterday at dinner, Megan-Marie looked so sad, and I asked, 'What’s the matter sweetie?' And she said, ‘Mummy, why can’t all mankind learn to live together in peace and harmony?’ It broke my heart – Megan-Marie has an ancient soul.”
“And she’s only five?”
“Only five, going on 500.”
“What a remarkable child, I can scarcely believe it.”
“Oh, it’s true, it’s true. Watch this: Megan-Marie do you hope that someday all mankind will learn to appreciate everything life has to offer and live together in peace and harmony?
“Uh-huh.”
“See? Oh, Child really is Father to the Man. My beautiful Megan-Marie with your beautiful thoughts, you put us all to shame. Now let’s take our finger out of our nose, shall we? That would make Mummy extra-special happy.”
39 comments:
"Going on . . ."--Great minds think alike? Precisely what I was talking about, but yours is funnier.
When my middle child was in jr. high she cried profusely to the point that I could not understand her.. u know the ugly cry? She said something similar.. but she used the word 'prejudice'.. she couldn't understand the concept.. and me being the parent explained it to her and it didn't seem to help... she bawled for a long time and in her own way got the gist of what I was trying to tell her.. I am glad that her heart was open to others- then again, we raised our kids to look beyond the physical and then I realized my kids never had to face adversity- being bi-racial kids u would of thunk then again, I guess we have come a long way? And no, I did not have to tell her to take her finger out of her nose...
When you're five, picking your nose is one of the only defensive mechanisms readily at hand.
BWAH haha! I'm with woman 2. And I thought us dog people were silly.
Mom better be careful; if the girl takes her finger out of her nose that ancient soul might slip out.
Wait wait wait--I recall another old soul (aged 8) arm wrestling a woman in her golden years (age 50 something) over payment for the girl scout cookies she had just ordered.
Des, I hope you're not casting aspersions on a newly published author? http://pasadenadailyphoto.blogspot.com/2013/01/camelot-vine-is-available-on-kindle-or.html
Katie, you made me spill my wine! Poor little Old Soul, father to the man - I guess the young Dalai Lama felt the same way.
Excuse me? I know nothing about arm-wrestling. But if it makes people click the link...
Say, this Megan-Marie sounds a lot like Boz. He's the frickin' canine Ghandi. I just asked him how he felt about the NRA and he snorted.
Do you think the 8-year-old would take a check?
I was waiting for the punchline...and I wasn't disappointed. Five really is an interesting age. I think that was the age I was waking my mom up to make sure she wasn't dead. I was a lot of fun to have around.
Kids should concentrate on picking their noses and leave the cod philosophy to people who don't know any better.
I have my own volumes of stories overheard in the cafe. Not usually as serious as yours today on world peace & mankind or womankind, but interesting more often than not.
Banjo -- and I almost illustrated mine with a chair. Really.
KBF, your daughter sounds lovely. I'm not surprised.
Amy, you put your finger on it.
Georgia, not by a long shot.
Katie, like a finger in the dike?
Bellis, Hans Brinker.
Petrea, only if it's certified.
Carolynn, no, really?
Tony, I think she was.
Cafe, you could write a book.
What Katie said; brilliant
and poking your mom to see if she's dead - that really is a LOL moment
At least the little one wasn't poking mom to see if she was dead with the finger that had just been up her nose!!!
Your honor, the prosecutor is clearly leading the witness.
Like many of your pieces, this belongs in the LA equivalent of the New Yorker, if there was such a thing.
I had taught my kids all to recite Einstein's Theory of Relativity by the time they were 3: "E equals M C squared!" That didn't mean they knew their arses from a hole in the ground. Maybe the poor little thing ought to be allowed to contemplate the meaning of picking her nose before she solves the whole world's problems.
Maybe someday she'll tell us the whole story, PA.
Chieftess, what a thought. Terry, sustained.
K, coincidentally, I sent a piece to the NY'r this morning, and am trying to figure out how I'll spend all the money.
Marjie, at 3, all I knew was my address.
And now I am extra-special happy. Love this.
We're all extra-special happy upon reading your perceptive take of this overheard moment. :-)
I wonder if some ancient souls are ghosts?
Snort, KB!! My son was three or so when he told me to stop calling him Baby Doll. I'll bet Megan-Marie knows all she has to do is start the nose picking and the absurd compliments will begin. And I'll bet she also a middle name.
GRIN! Sometimes that all you need do.
I loved the ending! No matter how smart or cute they are, they still pick their nose... I just hope she doesn't take that finger out of her nose and park the "ancient soul" on the bottom of the coffee table...
I loved the ending! No matter how smart or cute they are, they still pick their nose... I just hope she doesn't take that finger out of her nose and park the "ancient soul" on the bottom of the coffee table...
I used to anote some phrases said by my daughter and my son when they were little child. Some thoughts seem to come from "old souls". Now I did it with my grandson too.
did you change her name to protect the profound?
Initially, her nom de guerre was Chloe-Savannah, but that seemed over the top.
((((laugh/ barf))))
No, really! My neighbor's daughter is Chloe-Savannah!
LOL, LOL....So Funny and so Sweet, too!
Don't miss "Life Of Pi"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rPJtxuz8cU
Maybe you and Jackie Kashian need to meet.
Out of the mouths of babes, and in the nose. We can learn much from children. But I'll pass with the nose deal.
Patrizzi, that was brilliant. I'm going to watch it again.
Meow... that video was brilliant!
So is this scene. I expect we'll see your words in the New Yorker soon.
Oh, this reminds me so much of a kids party I was dragooned into hosting for my daughter many years ago. One of the moms would only speak to her daughter in Spanish, and praise her for answering in kind. The little girl was only to address our English-speaking crowd in Spanish, which Mom would translate. Which, if they actually were Hispanic, I could see -- but Mom and daughter were blondes with a Germanic surname and an obvious sense that overachievement begins early.
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