Runaway

 We headed to the Jersey shore to share a weekly rental with friends. There were 11 children in the station wagon and Nan. There were no seatbelt mandates in 1954. It was not until 1964 they were in American cars. It is 85 miles to Ocean City, New Jersey from our home. Roadside rest areas were few and far between. We played "I Spy" and other car games for the two hour drive. We pulled up to the beach at 10am and rushed with our towels to the edge of the water. Within two minutes we were all called back to the car to help carry chairs, umbrellas, snacks, drinks, floats and boards to our spot. Every child over 7 had the responsibility of attaching themselves to a child under 7. 

I had it easy, Richard fell asleep in the car and was ready to play in the surf. He was 3 1/2 years old and very rarely left my side. It was two o'clock and that was time to head to the boardwalk for the afternoon ice cream cone. We held hands, avoided the sea gulls, and sang "I am a little teapot". A perfect day with the family at the beach. We were all distracted when a police car and a fire truck raced down the boardwalk to put out a fire. One second later Richard was gone. We headed back tot he beach thinking he was playing a game of hide and seek, he wanted his bucket to finish his sandcastle. Nope! When you have the beach goers calling one name you figured just a lost child. Life guards were notified and they started searching for a little boy with brown hair, red swim trunks with an ice cream cone. Nope! It was all my fault. My sisters and mother were screaming at me because I could not do one thing right.

At 5pm we were all afraid to leave the beach in case he came back to our space. Nan decided to go to the house we rented and get by a phone and start to make calls to nearby cities. Three people stayed on the beach crying and attempting to stay calm. At 7 p.m. a puppy ran down the street in front of our rental house and chasing him was Richard. We were about 1 mile from where we lost him. He did not have shoes or flip flops and his stomach was covered in ice cream and sand. The puppy was not on a leash so Richard decided to catch him. The entire block started screaming. Some miracle brought Richard to us in a city that is 23 square miles. How? Why? Who? What drew him to that moment we will never know. He must have passed hundreds of adults, crossed many streets alone or blending into a crowd but no one thought it was suspicious this little kid was alone. 

Pay Attention!