These kids today...
There are lots of reasons that the world gives us to be cynical... I share a small moment of loveliness.
A little vignette from earlier today.
I had finished work for the day and was heading to the mall to grab a couple of things before dinner.
I was stopped in the middle of one of those pedestrian crossings that cross a main road and make you do a dog leg between two sets of zebra crossings with lights, which gave me a reasonable amount of time to observe the group of 6 or so teenage boys gathered outside the entrance to the mall. They were a group of 14 or 15 year old Māori boys being loud and obvious in that way that teenage boys inevitably are - big hair, big mannerisms, random whoops for no apparent reason. In a few years I'll be sharing a home with one of these creatures. I have no idea how they work. They are mysterious and strange and terrifying.
As I was closing the distance between them one of the boys, who was looking at his phone, yelled "BOOM" out of nowhere. I wondered for a moment what kind of dank meme or internet dodginess would prompt this sort of reaction whilst slightly getting my guard up - would any of the boys give me lip as I made my way through their number? This has been known to happen to me at various points over the last 40 years or so. I braced for some low level nonsense.
I needn't have. As I crossed the road in their direction most of them loped harmlessly past me in the opposite direction, apart from the "boom" guy who was still fixated on his phone, so much so that he was in danger of being left behind. He was holding it aloft at an angle that made me think he was taking a selfie.
As I passed behind him at an angle, as I made my way to the entrance to the of the mall I caught sight of something in my periphery. He was taking a photo. But it wasn't a selfie. It was of this:
As I'd been walking away from it the whole time I hadn't even noticed this gloriousness happening behind me.
I think that there are still things about teenage boys that I will always find mysterious, but yelling "BOOM" at a spectacular sunset isn't one of them.
There are lots of reasons that the world gives us to be cynical. Every day at the moment feels like a brace for impact. But sometimes there is silly, joyful loveliness and beauty.
The kids are alright.
