Barefoot Toddler on Hot Asphalt
I am parked in my car talking on the phone. I’m totally into what my caller is saying. Casually, I look to my left to see a couple and a child has just pulled up a few parking spaces away. I glance over again and see the child, who is about 18 months to 2 years old, walking bare foot on the hot asphalt.
Actually, he is hopping because of the heat.
The temperature is in the high 90s today, with a heat index in the triple digits. The child is trying to make it to the outside grocery carts so that he can ride. The parents meanwhile, look to be in a disagreement about who is going to ‘take the lead’ with the kid on this grocery trip. The father is grudgingly carrying the kid into the store followed closely by mom.
It is such bizarre scene.
It all happens a span of a few seconds. My conversation ends and I get out of my car to go into a different store. I slip my foot out of my sandal, put my big toe on the asphalt and almost cuss like a sailor at the intensity of the heat.
Have you ever been in a similar situation? If so, how did you handle it?
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