I saw this kid’s smile first. I was coasting through a small town outside The Hague being a tourist and this irrepressible grin was beaming from across the sidewalk. It was one of pure joy that simply could not be contained. I inspected the scene and saw that it was a 12-maybe-13-year old kid wearing dark sunglasses and a karate uniform. He had both a black belt and a yellow belt wrapped around his waist. And, he was standing in a pair of Rollerblades. 

It made me giggle. Partly at all the adventures I visualized of a rollerblading ninja, but also because he was broadcasting his happiness out to world. I guessed he was maybe at an age where he would want to keep things a bit cooler but this moment of glee was bursting out of him. It was infectious and I smiled too. What made him so happy? I have no idea. Are the Dutch developing an urban strike force of skating ninjas? Most likely.