Teenagers (preps, perfectionists,
goths, skateboarders, thespians, mutes, junior thugs) and I see something in each
other. Who doesn’t value a good gravitational pull? Three of them strode into the
Laundromat the other night and we, at first sight, had ourselves a bit of a past-life
connection. The tall one sat near me in the waiting area, where I was playing round
after round of Candy Crush on my phone.
“Excuse me,” it didn’t take
him long to call out. I knew we’d speak.
“Are you scared of
waterbugs?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said. (Actually
not really, although I used to be. It would have been too antisocial to say “No.”)
He pointed at a beast that slowly
crawled a few feet away, on the other side of me. “Look at him go,” I narrated,
following it with my eyes, pretending to care. I asked him what the difference
is between a waterbug and an extra-large roach. His nonsensical, long-winded answer
demonstrated that he hasn’t a clue.
He volunteered that he’s
terrified of bugs and would have gotten
up and ran if he were sitting where I was. Now we were talking. It was a startling
admission, considering he had the presence of a person who would kneel in front
of an oncoming tour bus if it meant protecting the two girls he came in with. How often are boys his age - and men two, three, and
four times his age – tough enough to fess up to their fears that candidly,
especially when they concern something so outwardly trivial? Half class
clown, half varsity athlete, smart but not studious, Homecoming Court but not King,
at risk of one day looking back at high school as his heyday – that was my
first impression of him. My second impression is that only the authentically
confident ones have any prayer of winning Most Likely to Succeed.
LOL!! @ "it would have been too antisocial to say No."
ReplyDeleteI'm terrified of bugs too... sounds like we need more boys/men like him :)
I'm so touched by your kindly and heartfelt comments about teenage boys. So often they feel the brunt of other peoples' disapproval and judgment about haircuts, sagging pants, loud radios, etc. It's refreshing to hear someone say that a boy you met under casual circumstances could be your dream son.
ReplyDeleteHow nice to be able to connect like that. I don't understand teenagers and so I avoid them. It's probably my own latent teenage angst rearing its head all these years later.
ReplyDeleteVery descriptive and humorous! I especially loved, "His nonsensical, long-winded answer demonstrated that he hasn’t a clue." LOL And "he had the presence of a person who would kneel in front of an oncoming tour bus if it meant protecting the two girls he came in with." Definitely gives a vivid picture of your dream son. Loved it!
ReplyDelete