As we sat enjoying our fast food and some small talk the younger of my two great nieces whispered the word "scary". I looked around me to try to locate the reason for her short remark. All I could see was a neatly dressed young black man with braids in his hair. Not being able to satisfy my curiosity, I asked her what was "scary". She didn’t point, thank God, she only nodded in the direction of the young black man that I had noticed. At that moment I became aware of the loss children sustain when sheltered by not seeing all of the diversity life has to offer. I didn’t feel that her remark was one of being racist, only of ignorance that is provided when a person only sees one facet of life day in and day out. After a short time the same child needed to use the facility and requested that her mother escort her. The facility was only feet away, so we assured her that we could definitely see her and that there was nothing to fear. With much persistence on her part I took her to her destination. She spoke to me with frustration, proclaiming how much she hated being in St. Paul. I was surprised but enlightened. My thoughts went to my dying mother and her 77 years of life. I thought about my life and the lives of my children and my husband and how grateful I was that I had spent my fifty plus years in surroundings where not much could shock or surprise, or instill fear because it is all just a part of living.

I haven’t done a lot of traveling in my lifetime, but I think that living in the city has certainly helped me to fill my resume of life. My children have come to appreciate and enjoy the city and all of its offerings, and even if they decide at a later time that they would like to change their surroundings, they will have lost nothing and gained so much by spending time in the city.