Julie Stauffer

When my oldest was about 3, we lived in a neighborhood in which all the
streets had "Park" in them...Park Valley, Willow Park, Memorial Parkway,
etc.. Often confusing even for adults new to the area.

We were out for a walk one day and run across a kid about 5 on a bike,
bawling his head off in a panic. It was his first day at a new babysitter's
home and he had gone out to ride his bike, turned the corner when he had
been told not to and couldn't find the street again. About the time we
stopped, a lady in a van stopped to help as well. Neither of us knew each
other or the kid so we didn't feel comfortable letting the other leave with
the kid. Finally, we all piled into the van, stroller and all and drove
around the neighborhood looking for something that looked familiar to the
little boy.

Eventually, the kid calmed down enough to answer questions and we discovered
his older sister was in 2nd grade at the local elementary school. We called
up there, talked to the sister who could tell us where the parents worked
and we were able to get in touch with them. The parents told us how to get
to the babysitter's who was also in a panic searching for the kid. I like
to think one of the parents quit work to stay home with the kids after that.

Julie