Explorations

oh, la, la… 

EverytimeIseesomeonehailingacabIwannarunupandgivethemahighfive.

Whew. OK. One more time: every time I see someone hailing a cab in the city, I just want run up to them as fast as possible and give them the biggest high five ever. I know it’s the dumbest thing ever, but I have to  physically restrain myself every time I see an outstretched arm with a open palm on the end of an unsuspecting stranger. 

So Thursday…I just did it.  I took a picture of the woman(some may say victim) as I passed from behind her, and then walked by her and across the crosswalk, so that I could  have a running start. There was nothing about her that seemed unusual, and after a second of trying to talk myself out of it, I took off. I ran across the crosswalk, leapt up, slapping her hand as if I were dunking the game winning point in the championship game.  As I was catching my breathe(panting a bit hard), I looked into her eyes, and she had nothing but a blank expression on her face. I then said, ‘Yeah, that just happened.’ She stood there for a few more moments until a cab pulled up, and she told the cab driver her destination. With a turn she said I was lucky she didn’t call the cops, we went our ways. There were several men watching from a store front and the were rolling over with laughter. I have to believe that she later smiled about our encounter too.

I can remember numerous occurrences since middle school when those around me have asked,  ‘When are you going to grow up?’ And when I say numerous, I do mean numerous; school teachers, administrators, employers, co-workers, fellow students, and yeah, even the kids I babysat for.  Not one of those people asked that simple question the same way…and the truth is my answer will hopefully never change.

I will never grow up.

Call it the Peter Pan Syndrome. I mean of course I want to grow up; live on my own,  support myself with a career(that I love), get a cool dog, and really ‘make it’. But along the way I don’t want to lose my inner child.