One thousand and one questions

one of my life's highlights occurred last night. my 10 year old nephew, kind of a shy guy, was sitting on the couch in front of the tv. unexpectedly he turned away from the tv and began asking me questions. a couple questions turned into some 150 questions, one after another after another. about the Isreal-Palestine conflict, about college dorms, about college apartments, about the roman empire, about soccer (I know nothing about soccer)... each question made me smile inside. it had been many years since I had experienced the joy of being around uninhibited curiosity, I had forgotten how good it felt. (at the same time, I was slightly saddened too because it had been many months since I had had time for a long conversation.) of course I asked him some questions too, and reminded him that my answers are merely opinions. I wanted to sit there and talk until he had no questions left for the time being. after about 2 hours he ended the conversation as abruptly as he had started it. he stood up and said, "ok, good night” and went up to bed.