Clear View

I went to my granddaughter's school play the other day and found myself reminiscing about when their (my grandkids) parents were doing their stints in elementary school grandeur. I stood in the fourth row and if you held your head a little to the left you could see around the hat of the lady in front. The guy beside her had really big ears but if you looked just left of his lobe, and under that tuft of hair, you could see the corner of my granddaughter's head. She was beautiful. The corner of her head stood out in that crowd of kids and she took my breath away. I almost cried a little at how wonderfully she stood and she didn't fidget or fall down or anything. I was so proud and, actually, felt a little sorry for the other parents and grandparents. They were pretending to be infatuated by their own children but they knew. They knew that the tuft of blond hair with the purple ribbon sticking out just behind that annoying boy, who obviously didn't know the words, was the best singer in the house.

When the program got over Carol and I waited in the hall to greet and congratulate her. She came bouncing up all excited, her bonnet securely fastened  with the orange bow and she looked stunning. I commented that it was a little hard to see her in all those kids but my dear wife admonished me. "She was standing right in the front row."
"Yeah, but that lady with the hat was blocking me."
It was a little surreal. Reminded me of the time I watched her mother, our granddaughter's mother, not Carol's, perform in a similar event. I was equally stunned at that production. Afterward, when I congratulated her, Carol pointed out that it was our son, not our daughter, who was on stage. It wasn't my fault though, it was the 80s and the lady in front of me had really big hair.

I've learned, now, to quietly stand and enjoy whoever I think might be in that crowd of blurry little kids on the stage and then wait till after Carol tells them how wonderful they were. I then, knowing full well who the star was, speak up and say, "yeah."

Driving tip: "Keep your eyes moving", applies everywhere when driving. The other day I walked out of Big Lots and saw a stunning event. The lady in the Lincoln, facing northeast, looked and saw no one was coming. She stared at her left mirror and started backing out of her parking space. The guy opposite her, in the Caddy facing southwest, looked and saw no one was coming. He stared at his left mirror and started backing out of his space. There was a loud racket when their cars smashed into each other. They both jumped out and admitted that neither had seen the other. I kind of got a kick out of that. I never really expected them to say, "Yes, I saw you."
Just because you are all alone when you start an action doesn't mean things are going to stay that way. Keep your eyes moving.