Big City Shock
Saw a sad scene this morning...
I was at the metro station waiting for a train to come by when a horde of middle schoolers came down for the train as well (for some reason, Thursday seems to be the official field trip day here in DC). Then there were two kids that came away from the group and waited over by me. One was a young black girl and the other a young white boy, and both spoke with really thick southern drawls. Somehow that just made me feel good. They were whispering (not very quietly) about how smart they were in going off on their own because everyone else would be crowded into the first car. It was cute how excited they were about being even this independant.
And then a "vet" in a wheelchair came by and ruined it, when he rolled over and asked them for money. Their excitement went out like a light and they both awkwardly came him a dollar each before running off to rejoin their group without further ado.
Then the guy came by me, despite the Look he knows I gave him for begging for money from schoolkids, and tried to ask me for money. I gave him another Look and he rolled away. I probably shouldn't have done that. I could have just said no. He probably felt ashamed too, but I was feeling irritated for the kids' sakes at the time.
I could see the look on their faces, the sharp disillusionment. I know from experience that this is one part of their trip that they won't forget. It's like a sucker punch to your humanity, especially when you're that young. And I know that's what will resonate far more strongly than even the pretty sights of DC as time passes and memory fades . I don't know, maybe it's just like that with me. Maybe I'm too sensitive to these sorts of things and those kids will forget all about it. Somehow I doubt it though.
Gah~ it's way too early in the morning to be this melancholy.
On a lighter note, I saw a high schooler on the train with a T-shirt that said "Cheap Tourist" in Japanese. I felt a little better.
I was at the metro station waiting for a train to come by when a horde of middle schoolers came down for the train as well (for some reason, Thursday seems to be the official field trip day here in DC). Then there were two kids that came away from the group and waited over by me. One was a young black girl and the other a young white boy, and both spoke with really thick southern drawls. Somehow that just made me feel good. They were whispering (not very quietly) about how smart they were in going off on their own because everyone else would be crowded into the first car. It was cute how excited they were about being even this independant.
And then a "vet" in a wheelchair came by and ruined it, when he rolled over and asked them for money. Their excitement went out like a light and they both awkwardly came him a dollar each before running off to rejoin their group without further ado.
Then the guy came by me, despite the Look he knows I gave him for begging for money from schoolkids, and tried to ask me for money. I gave him another Look and he rolled away. I probably shouldn't have done that. I could have just said no. He probably felt ashamed too, but I was feeling irritated for the kids' sakes at the time.
I could see the look on their faces, the sharp disillusionment. I know from experience that this is one part of their trip that they won't forget. It's like a sucker punch to your humanity, especially when you're that young. And I know that's what will resonate far more strongly than even the pretty sights of DC as time passes and memory fades . I don't know, maybe it's just like that with me. Maybe I'm too sensitive to these sorts of things and those kids will forget all about it. Somehow I doubt it though.
Gah~ it's way too early in the morning to be this melancholy.
On a lighter note, I saw a high schooler on the train with a T-shirt that said "Cheap Tourist" in Japanese. I felt a little better.