dmorin's Journal: Dear lady at the train station...

You were running to catch a train, your daughter in your arms. I was waiting in line at Dunkin' Donuts to get a Diet Pepsi. I heard something fall and turned around to see that your daughter had dropped her pacifier. You didn't notice it, but she did, and I watched her face as you kept walking as she watched it sitting there on the floor.

I should have called out after you. Sure, a binky that falls on the train station floor is disgusting, but you can boil it when you get home. At least, you'll know what happened to it. I know the expression on my own daughter's face when she is playing with a toy and it drops out of her reach. She can't ask anybody to pick it up for her, or even alert you that it is gone.

A few minutes later I did scoop up the binky and go looking for you up and down the station. There were only two trains at the platform so I walked up and down looking in the windows hoping to find you, but couldn't. Too little too late.

So, tell your daughter I'm sorry. I felt horrible when I imagined you strapping her into the car seat and saying, "Where's binky?" just like we do, and it being gone, even though she'd know what happened to it and not be able to tell you. Somebody did find it and try to return it, he just didn't try as hard as he could have.