post the fifty-seventh, 2013

went down to the high school tonight to watch a soccer game. the person i usually sit with wasn't there and this one young alumna that i know sat down by me. that was cool, we chatted, watched the game. soon a few of her friends showed up and sat around us, subsuming me in a group of high school seniors and college freshmen. i chatted when appropriate, sat quietly when i should. it's surprising how much kids will say when they get used to your being there. sex, drugs, rock-n-roll. i thought it was cool they'd talk around me and cool also that nothing much's changed since i was their age. we talked about the on-field action. they talked about on-beach beers. we talked about the puppies under the stands. they talked about keg stands. i think you see what i mean. not sure why they were being so open around me... maybe i seem safe, maybe they talk that way around everyone. in any case, the conversation was more interesting than usual by several orders of magnitude.

but... i felt a little guilty for being so easy going. when the game was over, i gathered them together and hugged them and told them to be careful. in the end, what can you really do with other people's kids anyway, other than tell them you care.