Blind Leaps

Picture this scene. A third-grade boy sits in the cafeteria with all of his friends. A kid stands up. "Hey, anybody want a 'Fruit-By-The-Foot'?" he asks. Everyone jumps up, eagerly responding. He then yells, "Get your own!" obnoxiously and eats it, and everyone laughs, including the main character in the story. The next day at lunch, the main character decides to try it for himself, because everyone wants to get some laughs, right?

So, a little timidly, he stands up and says, "Hey, anybody want a 'Fruit-By-The-Foot'!" One child, shy and innocent, responds with the face of an angel, "Oh, yes, please!" His face is the picture of innocent joy. Fraught with guilt over his attempted comic maneuver, our main character sheepishly announces his punchline: "Uh, get your own..." The little boy sits down quietly, disappointed, and our main character feels guilty for the rest of lunch.


Can anyone relate to this story? I know I can. I guess sometimes we people have a tendency to leap before we look, and it usually ends in disappointment. Never go along with someone without looking at the facts first.

And I was the third-grader, in case you were wondering.