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Sunday, July 8, 2012

Another Little Boy


The Husband and I are doing the last bit of Israel together. We bunked in with his friends and I made acquaintance with a young man of 6 years old who has appointed himself Petunia's Bodyguard. I don't think any amount of money can buy this level devoted service. We travel in 2 cars and being still under 10 years old, The Little Man has to ride in his parents' car. Even then, The Little Man contrives to be Him Who Opens Petunia's Car Door with a bright smile and a shy hello.

We visited Acre yesterday... the port through which the Crusaders entered The Holy Land. One part of the tour included some tunnels. The Little Man declined to go in because he found it creepy and full of monsters. I too declined because I have a fear of enclosed spaces where I can see no sun. So we bonded over our mutual dislike of tunnels.

We sat there and made conversation... wondering at this well and that other doorway. The Little Man has an intellectual bent. At all of 6 years old, he was the only one in his family who wanted an audio guide and actually LISTENED to it attentively. Since Petunia loves history, we both bonded over the historical details of Acre's Knights' Castle.

Then, The Little Man did something knightly.

We were close to closing time. After waiting a bit for the others to finish viewing the tunnels, we realised that the both of us were all alone in the castle. In a bit of a panic, we decided to make for the entrance. The Little Man ran nimbly on short skinny legs and lead Aunty Petunia through a gap in a closing door. I stood there blinking in the bright sunlight when the quick thinking little fellow pointed to the ticketing booth and said that we should return the audio guides. He insisted we return the audio guides quickly because his Daddy's driving license would otherwise spend the night there. I was a bit confused because we were separated from the rest of the group and I wasn't sure how many audio guides we had borrowed. But somehow, the little man was sharp and alert.

"Aunty Petunia, we have TWO audio guides" said he.

And that was true indeed. We rescued his Daddy's driving license and found an ants' nest to observe. Somehow, the little man wasn't as self-assured and calm when he saw the ants. He hopped here and there... and then ran off.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

children are such wonderful little creatures...and indeed so smart!

Blur Ting said...

Such a delightful story about the gallant young man I would love to meet.

Petunia Lee said...

Theanne - They are sweet. I miss having little kids around me.

Petunia Lee said...

Theanne - They are sweet. I miss having little kids around me.

Petunia Lee said...

Ting - Oh... you would looooooooove this one.