A Few Minutes Is All It Takes...

    The workout at the gym was complete, and the almost daily and more often than not hopeless attempt to improve the golf game was done. All that was left for the man was a few hundred yards more of what had been another long, pleasant walk in the park. While it may not always have the desired effect of clearing the mind, the man enjoys the morning to mid-afternoon routine. The frozen bottle of grape juice he brought with him will no doubt be somewhat melted, and the huge gulps will hit the spot. Just one more song pounding through the ear buds and the air-conditioned car will welcome him back. But…and there's always a but...

    Just ahead, walking on the road that is one entrance to the park that comes from the bypass...who are they? The man is pretty sure he sees what looks like a family. Yep, it's gotta be a family. Walking. From the bypass. A man, out ahead of a woman and a little girl. There's no parking lot on that road. They walked from the bypass entrance? That's crazy! Well, not crazy, thinks the man..I walk a couple hours every time I'm here, but I don't have a wife and a little girl tagging along, and what seems to be a couple of bags of ice and a backpack full of...whatever...on his back. This is not good. As the stranger stops at the intersecting roads that surround this huge park he looks across at one of the parking lots (where the man's car is parked with the air-conditioning and ice-cold grape juice waiting for him). It is clear he does not like what he sees. So this group of nomads turns and starts walking toward the man.

    As they get closer, coming from the other side of the not so wide road, the stranger finally crosses over to the man, and in broken but understandable English, apologizes in that polite and humble way that good people do, says, "Excuse me, sir. I am very sorry. But, where is the park?" As the woman holds the little girls' hand, still on the other side of the road and both looking plaintively at the stranger and the man, the stranger is told that he is, indeed, in the park. The man goes on to explain, as best he can, about the size of the park and that all of the parking lots like the one he just passed have picnic tables and charcoal grills that anyone can use. And some of the parking areas even have playgrounds. The stranger listens politely and intently, but it doesn't seem to be enough. "It is my first time here," says the stranger. "We wanted to see the park." 

    The man then tells him about the main picnic area with many picnic tables, rest rooms, paths to walk, and it's right next to the water. That seemed to do the trick. A broad smile comes over the stranger's face and he nods his head up and down. But the man has to tell him there is a catch to going to the main picnic area. "You keep following this road," says the man. "It's still a good mile and a half away. And the park closes at sundown." This does not deter the stranger. He shakes the man's hand vigorously and thanks him profusely. As the stranger crosses the road, back to his family, he turns and waves. At the same time, the mother and daughter also wave and smile. That smile. The little girl, no more than four with beautiful brown eyes as big as saucers, keeps smiling and waving as they start the last leg of their journey.

    The man's heart is captured, once again, by a child. And not just the child, but with the stranger's steadfast pursuit, and what is clearly his single-minded goal to get his wife and daughter to their destination. To a park...a picnic table... and a creek. As the man returns to his own pursuit to get to the air-conditioned car and the bottle of ice-cold juice, he realizes that more must be done. His pace picks up and in just a few minutes he is starting the engine (after a few huge gulps of said juice) and is heading out of the parking lot. With no hesitation, instead of making his way to the bypass, he turns left. 

    It was no surprise to the man that the family didn't get very far. The temperature was in the upper 90s and the sun was beating down on everything and everyone. That's nice weather if you're wanting to be active and trying to stay in shape while working up a good sweat, but it's not good for a family with a little girl while hauling ice and food. That little girl was taking 2-3 steps for every step Mom was taking! The man passes them and pulls into the grass just off the paved road. As he gets out he motions for the family to come to him. The radiant smiles...again. The bags of ice and the backpack, which the man now sees are full of bags with those big takeout plastic plates full of food with the plastic covers that you get at any fine Italian restaurant. 

    With the stranger in the back and the wife and little girl in the passenger seat, they head down the road. The little girl squeals at the 3 deer off to their right. The man tries to keep reiterating that the park closes at sundown and make sure they have plenty of water for their trek back, especially for the little one, as it's a long steep climb out of the picnic area. As they continue toward the main picnic grounds they pass another parking lot with a playground. The diameter of those beautiful brown eyes seems to increase ten-fold! The man says to the stranger that we can pull into that lot with the playground for the little one. But he sees the stranger’s head shaking in the rear-view mirror. His mind is unwavering; his destination is sure. The main picnic area, it is. 

    As the man pulls into the parking lot and the travelers disembark, the companion (for he is no longer a stranger) and the man extract the "luggage" from the car. More "thank-you's" and more heartfelt handshakes and smiles. The man points down to the picnic area and tells the companion to choose any open table. He also points out the bathrooms off to the side, as well as advising them to be careful near the creek. "Remember, the park closes at sundown," he says. The companion nods and smiles. And just when the man thought that these travelers were heading out of his life just as unexpectedly as they had come in, the little girl, who had been standing next to him the whole time he was talking to her father there in the parking lot, looked up at the man and raised her arms. The man turned to his new companion with a look of hesitation. The companion nodded and the man lifted up this beautiful waif, with her big brown eyes and her exploding smile. "Thank you," she said. And with a kiss to his cheek and hug around his neck, he put her down. Another stolen heart, and they were gone. 

                            

    I have no idea what happened to that wonderful family. I have no idea how they got to the park that day or where they came from. The walk from the park entrance to where we met is easily a mile. Did they take a SEPTA bus, or an Uber? Or were they meeting friends and/or family at the park and he just couldn't articulate that to me in English? I'm angry at myself for not going back a little later in the early evening to check on them. Here's what I do know; it only takes a few minutes to make a difference. Amy Grant recorded a wonderful song many years ago titled, "Helping Hand". I've been playing that song a lot since that day. I hope they know that they helped me as much as I helped them. And I'll never forget that little girl...

write to Peter: magtour@icloud.com