there goes the fear (again)

a parent has every right to be fearful when a stranger approaches their child. tonight on the subway however, i literally broke out laughing at the events that transpired. and i felt even more ridiculous laughing while reading john updike's terrorist. not exactly what one would classify as humorous.

there was a man selling liquid and stick-based incense, describing the various odors the incense came in, its uses, ya know the usual shtick. well i was sitting next to this 10 year old girl, and beside her was her parent or guardian. on the girl's lap was a cloth lunchbox that was unzipped and the girl was spacing out in typical 10-year-old fashion. slightly listening to the salesman tho i suspect more lost in her own thoughts.

the man approached our section of the train and the mother became more and more nervous, i could see her hands trembling out of the corner of my eye. now from what i could tell, the seller was not homeless or meant to be feared in any way, in fact i found him to be much more innocuous than the typical purveyor of subway mercantile. a bit hippyish but otherwise a non-vagrant. nevertheless, as he drew near, she grabbed at the little girl's lunchbox and with timorous fingers, zipped the three sides swiftly shut.

the man walked past without- i suspect- even noticing the incident, but i could barely contain myself. it had been a stressful day and i probably over reacted as i laughed out loud, but i wondered what could be so valuable that she had to zip the box up. i mean if he really wanted to steal it, or something out of it for that matter, couldn't he have just snatched the whole thing? it was still resting on her lap afterall. i imaged her as a modern-day bonnie parker and i was sitting next to her and clyde barrow's love child whose lunchbox carried an untold fortune. it made me almost want to fleece it.

but then again she was probably just a paranoid, overprotective mother who was going home to feed her daughter another round of mcdonald's.