[skewterdewd]

So, yesterday is the first sunny day in forever, and I decide do do some errands around town by bike. It's late in the day, so afternoon traffic is pretty thick, and requires most of my limited powers of concentration.
I pull up to a busy intersection and wait for the light. From behind I hear a kid's voice... "Hi!" really loud and bright. I'm looking forward and don't turn around. A few seconds later, I hear another "Hi" (but not as loud, and now sounding a bit confused) I still don't turn around, because it hasn't occurred to me that the kid is talking to me.. Then, a few seconds go by, and at a gap in the traffic I hear, In this tiny little, barely audible, sweet-as-can-be, Cindy Lou Who voice.. "Hi...Mister man...on... the shiny black motorcycle..." Well, this gets my attention. I look back, where I see the most adorable little girl, maybe 7 or 8 years old, glued to the window of her momma's Mustang. She's kneeling on the seat, straining mightily to get a look at the bike. I pop up my visor. She immediately startles back off the window, eyes as big as saucers. I look at her, trying to figure out if hers is the voice I heard. She looks back, temporarily frozen. I wave to her over my shoulder. Her face breaks out in an ear to ear smile, and she starts clapping and bouncing up and down on the seat, squealing with delight, totally adorable.

Something about that kid's pure expression of delight just put a lump in my throat. You could have pushed me over with a feather.

I don't have kids, because they terrify me. Occasionally, their amazing power to disarm adults blows me completely away. Just one more experience I would have missed by not riding that day. I doubt if I'll soon forget it.