Gumball
06-11-2018, 07:59 AM
After over six months of hibernation, I finally dug 7074 out last week and got it back on the road. One of the small towns in my area puts on a really nice show in a municipal lot along a river where they recently added a whitewater chute bypass to an old dam that was reconstructed - it's a really nice setting and brings out tons of families.
While I was talking with a guy, a little kid - maybe around six or so and weighing all of 40 - 50 lbs at most - walked right up to my driver's door, climbed on the side pipe (which was cool) and proceeded to yank on the top of the door with both hands. It looked like the kid next to him was an older brother - probably around 10 or so - but no parents in sight. I asked him to stop, then, when he didn't, I repeated myself louder. The guy I was talking to jumped in and started walking towards the kid and told him to pay attention, causing the kid and his brother to run away.
Maybe a half hour later, the two kids are back - about 20 feet away - and the little one was looking really embarrassed as his mom was talking to him very sternly. I only caught a little of what she was saying, but I could guess that she was telling him to apologize to me. He really looked scared, so I walked over and knelt down by him and told him that it was okay. He then apologized for touching my car without permission and for not listening when I asked him to stop. He had a hard time looking at me, but I told him that I appreciated that he talked to me like a man and that his apology was accepted. As he turned quickly to go back to his mom, I stood up and said that I'm guessing he climbed on it because he was excited and that he really likes my car. He said yes, so I asked him if he wanted to sit in it. You should have seen the little guy's eyes light up. He climbed in and mom took a bunch of pictures, then thanked me profusely for being so understanding.
I'm guessing that he won't soon forget that night and the lesson he learned.
Remember - these cars are like magnets to little ones and we have a unique opportunity to make a difference in their lives. Sometimes they may be a bit rambunctious or not understand the boundaries, but with a little patience, we can help cultivate a life-long interest in cars and hand our hobby down to the next generation.
While I was talking with a guy, a little kid - maybe around six or so and weighing all of 40 - 50 lbs at most - walked right up to my driver's door, climbed on the side pipe (which was cool) and proceeded to yank on the top of the door with both hands. It looked like the kid next to him was an older brother - probably around 10 or so - but no parents in sight. I asked him to stop, then, when he didn't, I repeated myself louder. The guy I was talking to jumped in and started walking towards the kid and told him to pay attention, causing the kid and his brother to run away.
Maybe a half hour later, the two kids are back - about 20 feet away - and the little one was looking really embarrassed as his mom was talking to him very sternly. I only caught a little of what she was saying, but I could guess that she was telling him to apologize to me. He really looked scared, so I walked over and knelt down by him and told him that it was okay. He then apologized for touching my car without permission and for not listening when I asked him to stop. He had a hard time looking at me, but I told him that I appreciated that he talked to me like a man and that his apology was accepted. As he turned quickly to go back to his mom, I stood up and said that I'm guessing he climbed on it because he was excited and that he really likes my car. He said yes, so I asked him if he wanted to sit in it. You should have seen the little guy's eyes light up. He climbed in and mom took a bunch of pictures, then thanked me profusely for being so understanding.
I'm guessing that he won't soon forget that night and the lesson he learned.
Remember - these cars are like magnets to little ones and we have a unique opportunity to make a difference in their lives. Sometimes they may be a bit rambunctious or not understand the boundaries, but with a little patience, we can help cultivate a life-long interest in cars and hand our hobby down to the next generation.