Picture the scene. You’re driving to work or on an errand. Traffic is moderate and the weather is clear. The tank is full and your seat belt is fastened. All is well. Except for the naked toddler in the roadway.
A woman who called recently was horrified by her experience. She saw the naked, shoeless boy while driving in the downtown area. What was more disturbing than the boy’s presence smack-dab in the middle of the street was the fact that other drivers were simply steering around the child and going on their way.

The boy was calm and seemingly happy with cars and trucks whizzing around him. Children are like that. The woman, though, was distraught. The boy could be struck by a car and killed. But more than that, there was not an adult in sight who seemed to care about the kid. How long might he wander unattended?

The woman took the toddler to the fire station. Calls were made. Inquiries went out. In short time, the child’s mother was located.

It wasn’t a case of a horribly neglectful parent and an unloved child. It was a matter of an overtired mom who fell asleep while her mischievous son went roaming. There are those who will condemn the mom for her inattention, no matter what the circumstances. There are those who will understand the weariness that comes with caring for a youngster, though they cringe at the thought of what might have happened.

Having never been a mother, I can’t lean one way or another. But I also wasn’t outright shocked by the story. My jaw didn’t drop, and I didn’t feel compelled to write a news story about the affair.

Children are all over the streets. They play at the side of the road and occasionally lunge into the roadway. There’s nothing like the heart-pounding fear that comes when a 2-foot tall kid darts from behind a parked car. You slam on your brakes, and a worst-case scenario plays out in movie detail in your head. You’re mad as hell at the kid at first because he caused a jackhammer panic in your chest. Somewhere down the road, you’ll start sputtering about the mom or dad who let their kids run free in the first place. But really, what are you gonna do?

No way I’ll profess to be an expert on kids and how to safeguard them. But you do have to wonder where the parents are when you see these little people all alone on the street before they can articulate complete sentences. Just like that woman wondered when she pulled to a stop downtown and carried a child to safety.

My best friend has a boy who just turned 2. Love that kid. He laughs at most of my jokes, and I think he’s gonna have a good pitching arm.

But when they visit and we yack outside, I’m a nervous wreck. We’re 15 feet from the road, but the kid has legs. Once he learned to walk, it was like someone rebuilt his engine. He moves with the blinding speed of a diving bird. He moves an inch closer to the road, and I’m ready to tackle him, even if there’s not a car in sight.

The mother though, she has that weird peripheral vision. She can be totally absorbed in a conversation, but if the kid crosses some invisible, maternal perimeter, she’s all over it. She hollers for the boy to stop or turn around or get that thing out of his mouth. You don’t know where it’s been. Then she resumes the conversation, all calm and in control.

I’d make a terrible mother.

So, the story of the naked boy downtown ends without drama. The child is reunited with his momma, who we presume is wrought with emotion. It could have been the first time the child slipped from her vision, and it may be the last.

But then, there are surely those who are at ease no matter where their child wanders. In a drug stupor or just otherwise unaffected, there are surely those who embrace the concept that out of sight means out of mind.

mlaflamme@sunjournal.com


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