I don't bother posting most of these when they just feel sappy, but this time I shall. I was in a large store, similar in size and traffic to a Walmart, I suppose. Lots of cuties there on a busy Saturday. They were literally everywhere. So t hat was nice, and now I was in line purchasing my items.

In the next line over and right across from me was a six or seven LG with a bright happy face. She had thick slightly messy long blond hair, a red t-shirt with an American flag which mom clearly bought on an impulse on the 4th, and denim shorts with some sequences on them. Mom and dad were preoccupied with their items.

Babygirl is hanging off the front of the carriage with her belly pushed out, with a nice little innie on full display. She's 3 feet over from me and smiling at me with bright carefree eyes. My cashier has already taken a few looks at her, and she is literally right next to him. He's a cool middle-ish age dude with a crew cut going just slightly gray. He seems like a sharp energetic guy.

So he sees me and the girl smiling at one another. He does a quick look-behind at the parents. He then reaches behind him, grabs her tummy, and gives it a quick tickle. She gives a delighted squeal followed by a giggle, and doesn't say a word, just keeps smiling:)

Clearly, this is just a normal daily event in the life of a cutie pie like her. My cashier hears her giggle and gives me a very quick and sly smiling glance. We're all smiling now. I make sure he notices my approval. I thought it was awesome.

Why were these few moments so heartwarming to me? I suppose I've been forgetting that they still happen in some little corners of society. Such a little moment really brightened the rest of my afternoon. Some time later, I thought how common a random tickle from a stranger used to be, and how most kids love this surprise attention. It felt sad that these days he could probably be hit with some kind of assault charge if her parents were of the new ilk, so to speak. I then had a brief memory of when Putin tickled some little boy's tummy or blew a raspberry on it or something, and some western media were trying to call him a pedo for it. Everything's sexualized, everything's assault, everything's racist, everything familiar or based in tradition is oppression. That's the assault on society's collective conscience today. It's weaponized false outrage being beamed in from every angle.

It's a false reality. I caught a few little rays of sunshine that reminded me to take my own advice. Turn off the mass or social media, and step out into the real world as often as possible. Our hope for humanity itself relies on these reality checks, and when a sweet little girl plays a role in one, it only makes you even more certain that the world is nowhere near the hopeless wreck they want you to believe it is.