When on vacation in Mexico I always enjoyed buying the wares of the young Mexican vendors; chicklets, candies, blankets ... Actually, I don't care what their wares are I just want to buy them! It never ceases to amaze me that kids aged 3 to 5 are actually working, and it may well be the work they will do the rest of their lives because if the family is poor enough to have the kids working at these ages, you know they are not going to school and will very likely get caught in the poverty trap.
On one trip there my wife Cory and I went to McDonald's for a hamburger. (Yes, we were a little home-sick!) As we went in there was a woman begging at the door. She had with her a young boy who I would guess was about 2 years old. I sat and watched him from inside McDonald's. He was only about 2 feet tall with short black hair. His face was dirty, not so much in a unkempt way, but more like a young boy who had been left to his own devices, and his smile shone like none other I have ever seen.
The more I watched him the more I was drawn to him. He was playing with a stick on the front step and, as people left McDonald's, if he was not too enraptured by his stick, he would flash a mischievous smile and hold his hand out for a peso. You could tell he did not care if he got one or not, he was just trying to help out his mom who was doing the real begging.
I became enraptured with watching him. He was simply the epitome of freedom, joy and childhood innocence. I decided that I wanted to do something for him (for me really), but I was not sure what. Money...no that would go to the entire family and I wanted to give him a gift. Clothes...where would I find clothes that small and I probably would not be able to run and get something and make it back before he and his mother moved on to their next spot.
I focused on his toy, this dirty stick that in the imagination of a child was a sword, then a cane, then a pointer, and then a horse! Then it occurred to me - McDonalds always has toys for kids! I would buy him a Happy Meal, complete with toy!
So I got the Happy Meal and made my way to the door, almost feeling guilty as I interrupted his enchantment with his stick. I handed him his soda first, which he was hesitant to take, but I smiled and he beamed his smile at me. Frankly, that smile alone made the whole thing worthwhile! Then I handed him the bag of food and toys, which he really did not think could have been for him. He was so thrilled! In very poor Spanish I said, "For you. Enjoy!" He grabbed the bag and ran to his mother, shouting, "Mama! Mama! Mama!"
I went back inside and finished my meal. I could not see him anywhere and I wondered if he ran off somewhere with his treasure or if his mom took the meal to be shared by the family. I wondered if one small fast-food meal and a cheap plastic toy would really make any difference at all for the little guy who stole my heart.
As Cory and I left McDonald's we saw, tucked into the corner of the step with his mother beside him, a beaming little boy with a his soda between his legs, a mouthful of fries, and his new plastic treasure in his hand. With his free hand he waved furiously at me and then, in perfect English, he said, "Thank you very much!"
I had a wonderful holiday and had many amazing experiences, but that little boy and the Happy Meal was my best reminder that the point of life and living is to reach out and make a difference, and most importantly, that pure acts of giving and receiving are for me, the most powerful experiences of love.
To the little Mexican boy who right now is probably asking someone for a peso, "Muchas gracias, for the gift!"
