Action: Some children are drawing with sidewalk chalk on the sidewalk surrounding 6th St and Ave B Garden, because the actual garden is closed during the winter. A creepy man smokes a cigar, watching the children from a distance (across the street). Some of the children’s guardians (mom, dad, uncle, aunt, grandparent, babysitter) chatter and gossip about at the nearby bodega. An art student stands by, collecting trash and taking photos.
Background: It is approaching December. It is not too cold; cold enough for two sweaters, but not for a big puffy winter jacket (sweater weather). Skies are partly cloudy. Smells include car exhaust, sweat, and dead leaves. Feels like a lazy Saturday afternoon.
Conflict/crisis: The creepy man finishes his cigar and stalks over to the children, who have finished drawing the hopskotch squares. Unexpectedly, instead of saying or doing anything inappropriate to the kids, he asks if he can play, too. The kids say okay. They play and have a good time. The man is not very good at hopscotch. Meanwhile, the art student notices the situation, takes some photos on his phone, and rushes over to the corner bodega where all the guardians are.
Development: The art student tells the guardians that a creepy man is interacting with their children. The guardians, alarmed and scared, take some brooms and baseball bats from the store and rush over to the hopscotch scene. One of them calls the police. The man and the children are still having fun playing hopscotch.
Evolution: Angrily and violently, the crowd of guardians, police, random passerby, and lone student descend upon the creepy man, who looks much less creepy now that he is smiling, although that smile melts into a face of horror at the sight of the people who want to do harmful things to him. It is revealed that the man is the beloved uncle of one of the children, hence their lack of concern over “stranger danger.” The uncle is from out of town. The crowd grumbles about the situation and disperses. The sun is setting. The guardians take their children home.
Hi Rui – intriguing story. You present some interesting ideas: the safety of public places, misunderstandings and conflicts that can occur at public places, how public places provide a space for us to play, the potential of inappropriate behavior between adults/children (problematic) or kidnapping (much more severe) in public places, the role of witnesses in public places (Jane Jacobs, who wrote The Use of Sidewalks, suggested an idea called “eyes on the street,” which is similar to this), the fact that seemingly benign places are subject to danger. Very good!
I look forward to seeing how you incorporate these ideas into your research. Let me know if you have any questions.