She's a hero!

Earlier this week, Bub and the boys picked me up from work and we went to Liberty Park. There was fun and playing and lots of parents not paying attention to their kids. We went to two of the playground areas. Meatball and I lagged behind Bub and Peanut while walking because we were going through the jungle. I asked him if I should be looking for several animals (jaguar, parrot, snake, etc.), but the only animal in his (pine tree) jungle was a frog. So, we jumped a lot.

After playing for about an hour, we (Bub) were getting hungry and grumpy, so we decided to get some sandwiches. I just wanted to go home so that I could get some homework done, but the boys and Bub had other plans. So, we went to a different park around 16th South and West Temple. It's just a little pocket park, but it's not crowded, and the boys like it. When we went there last week, we met and played with a nice little non-English speaking boy named Landon.

So, the boys were running around and sliding and climbing while Bub and I ate our sandwiches. She and I were up and down and chasing after the boys. All of a sudden, she yelled "Oh, my god!" and started running (which she hates to do). I couldn't figure out what she was doing, but it was clear that I needed to stay with the boys since she was about to dart out into the street.

Then, I saw it - the reason for her panic: a little boy - about 18 months old - CROSSING WEST TEMPLE BY HIMSELF DURING 5 O'CLOCK TRAFFIC!!!!!!!!!!! Nope - no grown up around - just this little boy stepping into the street.

Luckily, headed north-bound was a cop who (thankfully) slammed on his brakes just in time and flipped on his lights. The traffic behind him skidded to a halt, too. A really big van was headed south-bound, and slowed as soon as it saw the lights of the cop car. Good thing since Bub ran right in front of the van and scooped up the little boy.

Good hell!

Cop: Is this your son?
Bub: Hell, no!

So, while they are moving the now freaked-out little boy to the sidewalk, I'm trying to figure out where he came from and keep our own kids in the park (because, of course, they want to go see what mom is doing).

Bub (yelling to me): He doesn't speak English! (Like I'm going to come up with something profound. In the best of circumstances, I can ask where the bathroom is.)
Then, it occurred to me that it might be the same little boy from last week.
Me: Ask him if his name is Landon!
(All this time, still no grown up.)
She started asking him if he was Landon, and he seemed to respond to that a bit. She held him while the cop moved his car out of traffic, and I continued to try and assess the situation. Ah-ha! I see an open door and an open gate, so I start yelling to her and the cop.

Me: He probably came from that top apartment on the corner - the one with the open door.

So, Bub, little boy, and cop walk through the open gate, up the flight of cement stairs and to the open door. The cop knocked. After about 90 seconds (yes, 90 MORE seconds - this whole thing has taken almost five minutes already), the mom finally comes to the door. She acted like she was all concerned, but whatever, dumb bitch! Where were you when your kid was strolling around in traffic?

After giving the cop her name and number, Bub returned to the park. She was shaking, and sweating, and furious. It was the same mom and boy from last week. She said that she had wanted to absolutely punch the mom right in the face.

The cop spent a fair amount of time there. When he was finally done, he passed by the park and shouted a thank you to Bub. We left the park not long afterwards. When speaking to a friend from work the next day, she indicated that by law the cop will have to have DCFS pay a visit to the mom. GOOD!

Also the next day, Bub called me at work.
Bub: The cops just called.
Me: Oh great. What now?
Bub: They just called to thank me. They said that Officer So-And-So wanted me to know how much he appreciated my help and the risks that I took.
Me: So, you are a real hero!

I'm really proud of her. It was some impressive life-saving. She's not a half-bad sprinter, either!

Nope - I didn't want to go to that park, but I'm glad that we did. I don't really do the whole "divine intervention" thing - or fate - or alignment of planets - or whatever. We're generally atheists, but there are times when I do believe we are in the right place at the right time for the right reason. This was definitely one of those days.