Saving America's Youth. Or being terrified for future generations.

You need to know something about me in order for this story to not make me look like an ass hole. I leave my house at the EXACT time I have to in order to be at work at EXACTLY 9 am. I do this everywhere I go. I am rarely late. Rarely early. I am almost always exactly on time. I know how long it takes to drive just about everywhere in our city (it is rarely over 20 minutes) and plan accordingly. It is not weird to me that my father tells me that he will be at my house at 5:07 when leaving from work. Because I too would know exactly how long that drive would take. 

Onto the story...On my way into work this morning, I saw a little boy about 10 years old sitting in the parking lot by work. He was clearly alone, clearly dirty, and clearly hungry. I asked him if he was OK and he said yes. I asked him if he wanted to come into the restaurant while I called the police and he said no. I begged him to come into the restaurant and he refused. I said OK and I went into work (because I was going to be late if I didn't and I am not forcing a child to come with me when they don't want to) calling the police as I walked in. They said they would send a squad car right over. I never heard anything again and assume all was well, even though I was worried.

My peon, er line cook, came in with the same story from about 8:00 am when he went on his run. Kid refused help, he called the police. 

At this point, we figured out that the kid was hiding from the police somehow. We were concerned, but didn't see him across the street, so there wasn't much we could do.

Enter the owner of the restaurant. He pulled into the parking lot as the kid was shitting behind the dumpster. We have had a phantom shitter in our parking lot for WEEKS. Also a former dishwasher who gets drunk and pees on our back door. This is why I work in restaurants. Office workers never pee on your back door. And it is HILARIOUS to throw your keys at the glass while he is doing it and watch him pee all over himself.

Restaurant workers are ass holes.

So, he asked the kid the same questions that we did to the same result. He took a blanket out of his car, wrapped the kid in it, and hid him. (We are all still confused as to why he hid him in the bushes.) Called the police, went outside and stood with the kid until the police came. As soon as the police showed up, they called the kid by his name, knew exactly who he was and had been looking for him for weeks. 

It turns out that the kid was being sent to one of those scared straight programs and he ran away from home to avoid having to go. His home life was a mess, but his parents were worried and happy he was home. They lived three blocks away.

A couple of things...what 10 year old needs a scared straight program? When I was 10, I was going on bike rides with my parents and playing with dolls. Maybe not dolls? But I had a little sister so probably. 

What parent isn't SCOURING the neighborhood looking for their kid. THREE people I worked with saw him. THREE. The neighborhood I work in is up and coming. There are a lot of boarded up houses sitting next to houses worth a million dollars (and selling for about $150k.) But, still. If you care enough to send your kid to a program to get straightened up, why don't you care enough to look?

And lastly, why, oh why, don't you use the gas station/bar/restaurant bathroom to take shit. And more importantly, how did he keep getting kitchen towels to cover it up?