Today as I stood in the movie theater lobby, waiting for The Hangover to start, I was hugged, quite violently, by a little kid . I kind of knew it was coming, since right before it happened I heard “Mommy, can I go hug Mr. Tickle?” — Now, I’m no parent, but I’m fairly certain that if your seven or eight year old son asks you if it’s OK to go hug the strange man in a suit on the other side of the lobby you’re supposed to say no. Or at least ask some questions first. Like… I don’t know… “Why?” But at the very least instruct the kid to go ask Mr. Tickle if he even wants a hug (I did, but that’s not the point). Instead I was just suddenly engulfed by two little arms attached to a rather excited soon-to-be third grader chanting my name.
One of the hardest parts of subbing is trying to remember all the kids I meet that remember me, and quite enthusiastically at that. At the time I had no idea who this kid was, but shortly after the hug I was standing next to the kid’s father who was complaining about something to Kevin Victorella (Theater manager/Best guy ever) and he stopped for a second to yell at his son for tossing his box of Skittles(Delicious TM) around the lobby. I think it’s because I had only heard the kid addressed by an adult screaming his name, but that jogged my memory and I did in fact remember the kid from the few times I’d had him class.
He brought his cousin and some other kids over to see me. They all seemed to know who I was, but I just remember the hugger. I asked everyone how their summer was going and then- and only then- did the parents take any interest in who I was. They asked who I was and I told them I was a substitute teacher, and the kids confirmed my story and told their parents I was “The best”.
They’re right. I am.
