Pokemon For All

I was waiting for Ian's bus with him, at the end of the driveway, the other day, and just as it arrived, and the driver brandished his confident thumbs-up signal as the official go-ahead for Ian to cross our quiet street, Ian was finishing telling me something important, more-or-less as follows:

"At dismissal, there's a little kid who waits with his mother, and I was teaching them how to play Pokemon and playing with them."

I urged Ian to cross the street and board the bus, to avoid keeping the whole entourage waiting, but as he crossed the street, he yelled out his final thought on the matter:

"I wanna have them over!"

I was very moved that Ian found these total strangers, outside of his peer group, and through the Cause of Pokemon had somehow developed a bond with them and an investment in cultivating the friendship. Pokemon is a uniter.

(January 9, 2012)