No Depression Moment

At the No Depression Festival (what a great name, eh? -- eight bands in a row at Marymoor Park last Saturday), whiling away a hot afternoon waiting for the sun to sink a little lower and Iron & Wine to play, with Gillian Welch at the end of the lineup. (They were both great, and the earlier acts were too -- but there was still a fair amount of whiling away to be done.) We have draped a rattan mat between our chairs to create a little shade spot, in which Simon and I are playing Battleship while I grind away at the Saturday crossword. A young man in a wheelchair arrives with some friends -- he's in his early 20s, clean cut, broad shouldered, both legs amputated above the knee. I'm thinking Iraq War vet, maybe -- who knows. The group settles a few yards from us. Simon watches as the man's friends help him out of the chair and onto the grass -- then we go back to our Battleship game.

A little while later we wander over to the concessions area to get some chicken kabobs and mango lemonade, and Simon confides, "Mom, that guy with no legs is kind of disturbing to me." We have a little talk about this: Yes, it's hard to see people who've been hurt really bad -- it makes us feel sorry for them, vulnerable ourselves, etc. But most people who have something like that happen to them find a way to live their lives anyway, and part of that for him is coming to this show and seeing some music with his friends. So it's good to see that, even though it might be a little awkward for us. And no, I don't know how he got hurt, and no, I'm not going to ask him. He's not here to talk about that with people he doesn't know. Simon nods thoughtfully, but he still looks worried.

When we get back to our spot, the young man and his friend are playing frisbee -- walking around on his stumps, he looks like he's wading in the grass. We watch for a minute; Simon is smiling. I open up the crossword again. When I look up a couple of minutes later Simon has joined in the game -- and a few minutes after that, all three of them are doing the crazy backwards forehand throw Andrew taught Simon a couple of weeks ago.