Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Road rage


As Lilith and I turned downhill on Hui Kelu Street, we could hear them coming behind us before we could see anything. A toddler's high-pitched wailing. A grandfather pushing a two-child stroller came into view; the child in the back was screaming, screaming. As they approached a bit later, I asked if someone needed distracting. "Look at the puppy," I said. The toddler took a swing at me, as the man said, "some days he's good, some days bad." We were behind them then, and I could see that the grandfather's shirt read "Happy Running" with a smiley face on it. His calves were very well toned. Every so often he'd lift the child--facing back to look at grandpa--turn him around and drop him back in his seat. At Ahuimanu Park, the man took the stroller out into the field and pulled the kids out, the toddler and a smaller child in diapers. The toddler screamed and jumped in place and swung his arms. Grandpa sat down facing him. Last we saw, the toddler had his arms around the man and the man was patting him on the back of his small red shirt.

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