On Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:07:18 -0500, NP-f31 wrote:
>People used to share things like this in The Fort all the time, but
>these days folks seldom do.
>
>I have been having an e-mail conversation about what being a
>boylover means to me with one of the new boys in my life. Something
>happened yesterday that is a perfect illustration of what it means to
>me and how I deal with it. I shared this with him and I wanted to
>share it with you too as this is something that probably happens to
>all of us, but we don't talk about it. I wanted to see if others had
>similar experiences.
>
>I was doing some grocery shopping yesterday at Walmart. I was in an
>aisle and there was a lot of congestion. As I waited I rolled up
>behind a mom and her (probably) four year old son. He was a
>beautiful little fellow with a bored expression on his face, it was
>bordering on melancholy. Mom was preoccupied and he was sort of
>looking around for something of interest to stimulate him. I was
>right in front of him on the other side of my cart. I waited until
>he looked at me, which he eventually did, and I gave him my
>biggest, broadest boysmile. It's that unique smile that I reserve only
>for boys, it sort of says 'you're special' to the boy with whom I
>share it. He was looking at me and the smile registered on his
>face, I could see him begin to understand that I was paying
>attention to HIM. As this realization occurred he responded with
>the warmest, most genuine, happy expression I've ever seen. His
>little face lit up! And the joy in his smile literally made my
>heart jump. It was not only the reaction I'd hoped for, it went
>beyond that. In that moment we connected. His Mom, at this point,
>got behind her cart (they call them buggies down here) and took off
>in the general direction I was heading. He immediately went from
>one side to the other to look around her and maintain eye contact with
>me. I gave him a little wave and began to follow them now that the way
>was open. He grinned and waved back, clearly enjoying having a
>playmate. As I reached the intersection a cart came from left to right
>at speed and I had to wait to follow. Once I cleared the perpendicular
>aisle, I lost track of my buddy. Then I saw him off to my right and
>ahead of me. He was craning his body to keep me in sight. They
>passed a display rack in the middle of one of the wide aisles and
>he lifted up to look over so he could see me. He and his Mom were
>now going the exact wrong way from where I needed to go. I debated
>shadowing them for a bit longer, but decided that it would be the
>wrong thing to do. I caught one last glimpse of him as I turned
>left and I lifted my hand to wave and he was gone. I continued to
>keep an eye out for him as I completed my shopping, but I didn't
>see him. I still had a warm feeling from the sweet expression on
>his face. I had made him feel good for a moment and he made my day.
>
>Isn't it amazing what a simple smile can do? Please share your boy
>moments.
>
>Stay Safe,
>
>Doc
>NP-f31
Great story, Doc!
The little connections that complete strangers can make have always
intrigued me, particularly the connections between men and boys.
A few weeks before Christmas, I was shopping (at my local Wal-Mart no
less) and during the previous several weeks there seemed to be a big
deal being made locally about teaching people, particularly school
kids, the proper way to cover their mouths when they sneeze --
sneezing into the crook of your arm instead of into your hands. I had
been cleaning just prior to going to the store and because of my acute
allergy to cleaning, I had already sneezed a few times before getting
to the store. I thought I was done with them, but when I got into the
spice aisle (I couldn't make this up, really) I saw a very cute lad of
perhaps 9 or 10, who was pushing the cart for his mom. They were on
the opposite side of the aisle from me, heading in the opposite
direction. I stopped a few feet short of where the boy was and glanced
over in his general direction. At that moment, I felt a sneeze coming
on and suddenly, he lifted his arm upward and let loose a doozy of
sneeze of his own, at which point I sneezed into my arm. He sneezed a
second time, and so did I. We looked at each other, making eye contact
and I started to grin at him, when his eyes closed and he sneezed
again. In response, I sneezed once more. We looked at each other and
laughed out loud. His mom even turned toward me and smiled at me and
said "My goodness!" I shook my head, still giggling along with her son
and said "Don't blame me, he started it!" at which point we all
laughed.
At that point, she put something into the cart and continued on and I
got whatever it was I was getting and went on my way. Several minutes
later, we wound up in the same aisle, again going in the opposite
direction. He recognized me and I gave him my biggest broadest boy
smile. He beamed back at me and then started to pretend like he was
going to sneeze again. I chuckled and said "Don't start that again,
young man!" and we both laughed.
Chad (NP-b24)
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