Work Ethic

Occasionally, after Rebecca goes to put Maya and Jonah down for the night, I'll go to the convenience store near our apartment, buy a beer, and sit at the sidewalk table to people watch. The first time I did this, a boy, probably about ten, hit me up for some change.

He had the dirty look of a street kid. I asked him if he was hungry and he said yeah. I gave him some money and he went into the bakery next door and brought some bread. Now, every time I go out, before I even get to the store the kid is there asking me for change. It's like he has gringo-radar.

That first time, after I got settled at the table, I could see the kid juggling four or five balls in the street at the traffic light. From the vantage point I have from the table, I can just about see the top of his head and the balls making their arc in the air.

I don't usually pay much attention to him after I give him change. There are more interesting things going on. But tonight, I decided to change my vantage point and I got a better look at the kid at work.

Tonight, I could see that the kid doesn't only hit me up for change. He asks just about everyone that passes the corner. This didn't really make me feel any better.

I could also see that he isn't alone. There are two other kids there with him. Another boy and a girl. Both younger (at least smaller). They take turns juggling balls when the light changes red.

I'd bet the girl is Maya's age. She was out there juggling two balls, slowly, up and down, once in a while under her leg. She didn't drop any while I watched. The other boy is better, faster, but the older boy is the best. He has a bunch of balls in the air at different speeds and is juggling them under his legs and behind his back. More practice, I guess.

The kids aren't there during the day. I guess they must be at their other jobs. During the day that corner is the domain of the newspaper saleswoman and the old indigenous woman that sells mandarins or lemons, or whatever fruit she has that particular day.