“Hell is—other people”
We think we know how we would act in certain situations, whether we would speak up or stay silent. But do we, really? Recently, I went to my condo pool for a brief afternoon swim. The building cleaning lady, N, was going into the pool area the same time I was, and as we entered, we saw a young boy playing in the shallow end, all alone. N and I looked at each other in alarm. I swam up to the boy and asked how old he was and where his parents were. He said he was seven and his dad was in the sauna. I told him to tell his dad he shouldn’t be left alone in the pool; it was not safe. To which the young boy replied, “I have goggles. I know how to swim.” I did my laps while N mopped the floors, both of us keeping a puzzled eye on the boy. After about twenty to thirty minutes, with my laps done, I consulted N who said she still needed to be there and would remain until the boy’s dad emerged. As I was heading into the women’s change area, the men’s changeroom door opened and a man pop...
