A Penny on the Train Tracks

"Some say that as you become an adult, the child in you begins to slip away. Not forever forgotten but, never to be a part of your everyday life again." – Myself, June 2004.

Mike is a guy who now, as an adult has many times taken on the role of “Mentor” or “Big Brother” to quite a few kids in his life who reached out to him at a time when they needed someone to reach out to. Having been a kid who would have benefited had someone taken on that same role with him, made him swear to never turn a blind eye to anyone who may need someone to lean on. This promise has brought quite a bit of joy to his life and a renewed “Childhood” at times. But still in the back of his mind, memories of what was, and dreams of what could have been, haunt him. Having been given a chance to re-live some of his missed youth through his younger friends and family, help to fill a hole in his life but, there was always the memory of himself as a little 10-year-old boy who was forced to grow up too fast. Something that now when given the opportunity, he would give anything to ensure that anyone “Under his Wing” would never be forced to do. If only someone had been there when he had reached out back then. In different shoes, as an adult, it's easy now to picture himself as a different person. When those memories begin to haunt, to him it's simply another child who was in need. One that he felt he could never reach…