Don't Talk To Strangers

Before he was the governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger was Mr. Kimble, Kindergarten Cop.

When I was 8, I found that movie to be delightful. Whether it was his endearing accent, the traditional fish out of water tale, or the veins bulging from his neck as he spewed one of the most quote-worthy phrases of the 90s (“It’s not a too-mah!”), I’ll never know. All I know is that I learned an important lesson from that flick:

“Don’t talk to strangers.”

However, my sweet friend, Little Olivia, has a whole different take on the subject.

One afternoon, LO, her mommy, another friend, and I were eating lunch at a local sandwich shop.

LO’s coat had accidentally fallen onto the floor, our group none the wiser.

A very nice gentleman with a gray beard began walking past but paused when he noticed the coat on the floor. Being the nice gentleman that he was, he picked up the coat and handed it to LO’s mommy with a gentlemanly, “Whoops! Looks like ya dropped this!” The nice gentleman then moved on to join the rest of his lunch group.

We all smiled and continued with our conversation, only to be distracted by Little Olivia’s look of quiet dismay.

She watched the man walk away, her tiny brow furrowed in complete confusion. We were unsure as to what could cause this dear, sweet child such bewilderment until she told us in a loud not-so-whisper, “Mommy, that man didn’t kiss or hug me!”

Today's moral?

Don’t talk to strangers…unless they pick up your coat, then you should expect a hug and a kiss.