Tan Is The New Black, White, And Brown

Sometimes we’re lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time and we witness something beautiful.

This story might read like it’s ripped from the script of Lifetime’s next made-for-TV movie or a re-run of Touched By An Angel on the Hallmark Channel. You've probably read something similar in one of those chain emails your mom sent you, or in one of those sentimental Facebook posts emblazoned with a title reading something like "Wait Until You Hear What a Man Said to a Little Boy on the Train!”

The story starts on the train while making my normal commute to work. Alarmingly, the train was nearly empty and there were only four of us in the rear car of the train. A woman was seated across from me with her young son next to her, and a man was sitting in the seat farthest toward the rear of the train.  The woman was white, the man black, and the little boy somewhere in between. The woman was reading what appeared to be a trashy celebrity gossip magazine, while the boy was swinging his feet below him and staring at the man in the back, who, with his head resting against the window, appeared to be asleep.

When the train eased to a stop, the boy hopped down from his seat and rambled toward the back of the train, his head bobbling from side to side with every step. He ambitiously climbed up into the seat next to the sleeping man and quietly kneeled next to him. The train’s doors closed and we pulled out of the station. The boy sat calmly at first, but his impatience won out and he poked the man in the shoulder a few times, which was enough to startle him awake.

The man appeared to be agitated by being so rudely awakened, but his face softened when he saw the boy happily bouncing on his knees next to him.

Once he had the man’s attention, the boy divulged his reason for bothering him. 

“I like how brown you are,” he said. 

The man cocked his head slightly, showing his confusion. 

The boy continued, “My dad’s brown like you are. That’s why I’m tan,” the boy said proudly, as he pulled up the sleeve of his jacket and pointed to his tanned forearm.

The man’s response is what makes this story worth retelling. He sat up in his seat, put his hand on the boy’s shoulder, and uttered some truly beautiful words.

“Well, your father must be a handsome man. And you wanna’ know something, kid? One day, we’re all gonna’ be tan just like you.”

The boy’s face lit up. He turned toward his mom as if to say, “Did you hear that mom?!” He looked back at the man and nodded his head. Then, without saying another word, he got down from his seat and skipped back up the aisle like he was walking in the clouds. He practically dived into his mother’s lap. She wrapped him up in her arms and looked back at the man in the back of the train. I could see tears welling up in her eyes. 

The man simply winked at her, sunk back down in his chair, and rested his head against the window as he closed his eyes.