Tuesday 22 May 2001

Choke

At lunch today, the kid tried to eat his corn dog while it was still too hot and almost swallowed it whole, but it got stuck and he couldn’t breathe or talk until the Mommy charged around from her side of the table.
    Then two arms were hugging him from behind, lifting him off his feet, and the Mommy whispered, “Breathe! Breathe, damn it!”
    After that, the kid was crying, and the entire restaurant crowded around.
    At that moment, it seemed the whole world cared what happened to him. All those people were hugging him and petting his hair. Everybody asked if he was okay.
    It seemed that moment would last forever. That you had to risk your life to get love. You had to get right to the edge of death to ever be saved.