The Red Balloon

Many of you will see only a kid looking back at a red balloon.

Consider yourselves young.

Some of you will look at this little boy and see much more.

Consider yourselves . . . ahem, mature.

I must have been six or seven years old the first time my teacher loaded this foreign film into our classroom projector. Yes, a projector!

Today, the simple image of this little boy and his balloon, brings back a potpourri of memories. It is, I believe, a film as relevant today as it was the first time I laid eyes on it.

A few years ago I saw it again at a cultural event with my oldest daughter. And for 30 minutes, it made me feel like a kid again. Perhaps many of the adults in the room felt the same way.

People from different corners of the world share in experiences that go largely unnoticed every single day. But occasionally a majestic moment is caught–like the one I, and others, experienced again about a boy and his balloon. Appreciatively, I had my own kid by my side.