“Mix a little foolishness 
with your serious plans. 
It is lovely to be silly 
at the right moment.”
~ Horace

The afternoon began with a casual meeting with friends. Kathy and I got together with Tim and his wife Mary Ann at the Starbucks at Lincoln Avenue and Minnesota in the Willow Glen area of San José. We had a delightful two-hour visit. As we were getting ready to say goodbye, Mary Ann asked if we’d like to join them for dinner in Japantown in San José. It didn’t take much to convince us to join them. Kathy and I thoroughly enjoy Japanese food. We rode downtown with Tim and Mary Ann. 

Tim parked the car on Sixth Street, just south of Jackson. As we walked toward the restaurant, we approached a group of about ten young Ethiopian kids sitting at a picnic table on the sidewalk at the corner of Sixth and Jackson. I would guess that the kids were middle school or early high school students. They seemed like nice kids, so I engaged them in a brief conversation. They were from Modesto and were in San José for a graduation party. I commented on the sweatshirt one of the boys was wearing. It had a Japanese image, the word Tokyo above it, and the word Jujutsu below it. At first, he didn’t know quite what to think of my comment, but I assured him that I was impressed with the image. One of the other boys, teasing his friend, told me that he could tell me all kinds of stories about the boy wearing the sweatshirt. All the other kids were laughing, including the boy wearing the sweatshirt. It was all in good fun.  

After a nice dinner at Kaita Restaurant on Jackson Street, we headed back toward the car. Much to my surprise, the kids were still sitting and standing around the picnic table. The boy with the Tokyo sweatshirt wasn’t with them at that time. I spoke with the other kids for a minute or two, then the boy with the sweatshirt walked around the corner and saw me talking with his friends. At that point, I looked at him with a shocked expression and said, “You did THAT? Seriously? He (pointing my finger toward his friend) told me what you did. I can’t believe you would do such a thing!” Of course, his friend had not told me anything!

Again, everyone was laughing and enjoying the moment. One of the girls, who had just arrived with the boy in the Tokyo sweatshirt, came to his defense. “They lie!” she said while laughing. So I turned toward her.

“Oh, yeah,” I said. “He told me about YOU, too!” The whole group was laughing and having a good time. They all clearly understood that it was all in good fun. I said goodbye to the kids and we headed back to the car.

What an absolute delight to meet such a wholesome group of young people. It was clear that they were all friends. It was clear that they shared the gift of humor. It was clear that they respected and trusted each other. I’m grateful tonight for this brief encounter with such a healthy group of kids.