On the day after Christmas, did you see what I see?

Welcome to my new follower, and second student to find me in the blogoshpere, Sarah. Without too many details, I will share with you my admiration for her self-determination. Plain and simple she is a warrior and a fighter. She didn't think working at ESPN surrounded her with enough testosterone or fragile male ego and decided to become a paramedic instead. Welcome to the horror of it all Sarah!

Today I was at Borders. While walking down the stairs to the first floor I passed a girl and her mother on their way up. The mother was leading her daughter by the hand. The girl was completely and totally excited to be slowly walking up the stairs. The mother held the girl's hand and encouraged the squealing girl on. You could tell climbing stairs was something her daughter with long curly blonde hair, and bright blue puffy coat, really enjoyed.

I locked eyes with the daughter and it left both of us with little choice but to smile. It was an extremely small gesture that brought an instant of joy to my face. It made me take a second to look back up the stairs when I reached the bottom. The girl's angelic glow and infectious smile stayed with me for most of the day. I'm sure most everyone has had an experience like that.  For me, life is always in the little things.

Allow me to now to help you re-imagine the scene you just pictured in your head. The daughter wasn't a little girl. It was a woman who appeared to be in her early 20's. My educated guess was that she was born like any other little girl and suffered some sort of traumatic brain injury later. Her mother was leading her with a practiced hand and also made eye contact with everyone around them. It was a look of compassion and understanding mixed with the fear of expectation. None of that really mattered as they blocked most of the stairs, she was doing it for her daughter who was having the time of her life.

The reason I turned at the bottom of the stairs, besides a moment of sharing someone's joy, was because there were two teenage boys and a father behind me. It had taken less than a step for me to figure out the mother's fear and expectation. Much like the girl's mother, life has taught me to always be on guard.  Just as expected, both boys were laughing as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

Before your imagination runs away with you, the boys were laughing because they felt the daughter's joy too. One said,"Wow! All that from climbing stairs? That's awesome." The other boy remarked how the mom should take her daughter to ride the escalator. The boys with their shaggy black hair, sock caps, and pants hanging by willpower below their waist, understood and were touched by the girl's infectious aura. It's too bad the ass of father wasn't.

Just when you see light exist in the world someone seems to be there to stamp it out. There to set a manly example for his boys the man called the daughter a f*****' retard. Anyone that knows the real me, even a little, knows what is about to happen...I would never fail the What Would You Do? scenario. Still holding a bright orange Bunny Suicides calendar in my hand I turned to face the man. That's when I watched as the taller of the two boys said "Don't be a dick Dad" and lightly slapped his father with a backhand to the gut for emphasis.

The father with his rolled eyes and smirk missed the point entirely. The rolled eyes between the two boys told me they didn't. I wound up putting the Bunny Suicides calendar back with hope for the world yet.

JOE