There is only a tiny nugget of financial stuff in this story, so be forewarned!
So.... I was driving down to Albuquerque (to the Apple Genius Bar) yesterday from the Community College where I'd just dropped off a brochure/portfolio (looks like I have a project there coming up - hooray!). It was about 10 am.
I passed an elementary school on the right, and after that the landscape is just rolling hills without buildings or houses; no shoulder, but about 30 feet of tall, scrubby brush and then a simple three-strand barbed wire fence after that.
Then I saw a person walking in the brush on the other side of the road, and when the car in front of me got close, he ducked down. He popped back up and I saw it was an 8 or 9 year old boy. When I passed, he ducked down again.
I couldn't stop (no shoulder) so I went another half mile to a fire station (that I designed, so I knew it was there) and told the firefighters what I'd seen. They called dispatch, and I got back in my car to make sure the boy was still there and ok. I found a little turnout off the road, and just watched him in my rearview mirror. I didn't want to scare him.
Eventually, he kind of came near the car, and I called out "hi; are you ok?" He came over to me, and I talked to him for a while. How old was he? Nine. Why wasn't he in school? (He said he was homeschooled but he was in the public school dress code). He said he was "out for a jog." I said I thought his parents would be worried and asked if he was cold (no, he'd been "jogging."). He said the truth was that he was trying to go see his grandparents, and his parents wouldn't let him see them. He gave me an address, and asked if I'd take him there. I told him that I thought it'd be better if he went with a policeman or firefighter.
We talked about 8 minutes or so, and then a cruiser and fire truck showed up. He told them the same story, then they took him into the fire truck to get warm. I talked to the policeman a little longer and we both thought he probably went to the school up the road (yikes!).
When I got back in my car, I was so sad, I felt like crying. I thought of the parents who probably had no idea he was walking along this narrow but busy road by himself.
I have no idea what happened after that, but at least he was safe.
I went to the Genius Bar and ended up with a new phone (exactly the same one I had before but not broken) for $79 even though I am waaaay out of warranty because Apple is good that way and the guy that helped me was really sweet. (That's the financial part of my story; if you're having a problem with your iphone, go to the Genius Bar - they don't charge you to check things out and you may end up with a new phone).
Strange Thing Happened Yesterday
December 11th, 2015 at 08:38 pm
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I hate to think that so many children have unhappy home lives. I think you did the right thing and I hope things get better for the little boy's life.
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