yesterday I was down by my old office at the Smithsonian... I was doing the BikeShare mobile mechanic thing when I decided I would get a "water dog."
rolled up to a Hot Dog Cart on the sidewalk
I had eaten at this cart enough times before that I had a small talk relationship with the hot dog vender.
I started off with a quick quiz on prices and specials...
Hot Dogs are not the dollar snack that they once were... FOOD PRICES!
So... a Spicy Half Smoke ALL THE WAY and a can of Coke...
as this man threw together my half smoke with all the fixings I asked him about his son... I had met his son a number of times over the years...
the response was awkward...
"Which son? I lost one?"
hmmmm... I had not recalled this...
he asked "The fat one or the skinny one?"
the skinny one... as I do not recall meeting a fat one...
"oh... he passed away"
when I met this kid... he was maybe slightly younger than my boys... we talked... he was bright eyed and full of enthusiasm
apparently unbeknownst to his father this young man\boy was into climbing structures and taking photos for Instagram\Youtube...
while doing this... this boy fell three stories to his death...
tragedy...
chilling.
painful to think about.
Hug your children...
Wish them safe travels...
Hope that their choices are the smart ones...
As the father to somewhat wild boys... it was not so much telling them "no" but rather... "be safe... be smart... make good choices"
breaks my heart... that man and his loss