A few weeks ago, after buying my new Ukulele, I was riding back to my apartment when ‘lo and behold, two boys were duning it out in a street soccer match. I stopped my bike and decided to join in the scrimmage. Two versus one was a pretty even match – They sent me running, but my legs are longer. After a while of this, I decided to head out since my 20-something self gets tired a little more quickly than a 10 year old.

Today, after a run around the small town, I am doing my cool down walk back when I see three of them. Two soccer balls buzzing and soaring around them. They were playing at that same intersection that we played at the last time, and the same one that I go through to get home. They saw me a block away, and the waving and excitement started. The matched started with Three-on-one, but the girl who was sitting of to the side watching joined in almost right away, evening the teams to girls versus boys, two versus three. Paired with a 9 year old Japanese Mia Hamm, she and I were passing and shooting. The mother came out and saw me bounding after a couple run away balls, and where I expected to see worry and suspicion of a strange person playing with her children, I saw amusement.

Playing outside until the streetlights come on, not worrying about your children playing a game in the street with a complete stranger, stopping your game for the occasional passing car. I don’t know if its that we lost our trust in people as a society, or if society has given America something not to trust. I remember running over to my friends house when I was 6, my sister, then 8, came with me to make sure I got across the street safe. Then when I was living on the boat, we were allowed to play until the dock-lights came on. So living in an area where I don’t lock my bike and its still there when I come back, leave my shopping in my bike basket and its untouched, I have developed a new faith in humanity. For just a moment I got to be 10 again, playing soccer where we grab the ball and yell “CAR!” when we spot a passing vehicle. Where the only thing that was different was that I was sent in to retrieve the ball from under a parked car since my arms and legs were longer. And when the sun set, I was waved off and serenaded with “Arigato” and, from my mini-Mia-Hamm, a surprising ‘Thank you’. THESE are the moments that I travel for.