Reminders
Last evening after church services, my youngest child Anna Prinkey and I were talking with another church member. Anna shared a story about an incident that happened to her when she was younger. She was so young; she has little actual remembrance of the incident other than the oft-time told story about it. This occurred in a time when baby seats were little more than plastic scoops with wire legs to position the baby seat at different angles. Today’s infant car seats are like Sherman tanks when they are compared to those old plastic car seats.
My wife Cindy Morrison Beck and our two other children Amanda Yoder and Andrew Beck were shopping at Fisher Big Wheel department store. It’s been so long ago, I have no inkling of what we were shopping for. We just entered the store and placed the car seat with Anna into the trough on the shopping cart that was made for toddlers to ride while parents were in the store. These thick wire enclosures had holes for the kids to put their legs through and sit on the trough-type seat. If my memory is correct, they didn’t have the safety strap seat belt to keep the kid from climbing out like the carts that stores have today.
So, back to the story. We’d just settled Anna with her car seat in the trough of the shopping cart, my wife Cindy Morrison Beck was at the helm pushing the buggy. Amanda and Andrew were clutching the side of the cart. Suddenly they decided at the very same instant to climb up onto the side of the shopping cart. The shopping cart offended at their assault and tipped over. Anna still strapped into the plastic car seat, slid out of the trough and skidded across the hard tile floor, scooting along for nearly 12 feet. Scared, the two tipping culprits sprinted to a nearby clothing rack to hide. Cindy began to scream, “My baby. My baby.” Anna was safe and unharmed. She was quietly waiting to be retrieved.
I remained calm when I knew that Anna was unharmed. I righted the shopping buggy, gathering up Anna and her car seat into my arms. Cindy stopped screaming when I placed Anna back onto the shopping cart. The two perpetrators of the entire commotion coyly peered from the depth of the clothing rack. When they felt it was again safe for them, they reappeared and were on their best behavior. Not a single employee came to investigate what had happened. To this day, I’m still unsure if we actually bought anything.