Ah kids. They're everywhere. Hopefully, this includes most of us. Maybe I haven't grown up. At any rate, I like to think of myself as an honorary kid.

I just got back from a Heart Walk in Balboa Park in San Diego. I was part of a drum circle that entertained 9,000 participants strolling past. A lot of families had their kids in tow, many being pushed on strollers. The little tykes were fascinated by our display. I play the didgeridoo, which is quite an attention-grabber. Part of my didge repertoire includes animal noises, plus no end of novel vocalizations that are sure-fire kid-pleasers.

Parents would swivel their stollers about and wheel their precious cargoes toward us. Likewise, I and one or two other drummers would step forward and play directly to the kids.

I can't begin to describe the buzz I felt. I may be depressed a good deal of the time, but any joy I feel in me - indeed, just about all my life force - I attribute to cultivating a playful child-like spirit. I feel at one with kids. I feel like a kid, myself. Hell, here I was, on a Saturday morning, honking away on a fun instrument with a bunch of fellow souls banging on things.

Are we not kids or what?

Question: Kids - how do you relate? Your "inner child" - present and accounted for?

Share your experiences. If you have problems relating or identifying, share that, too.

PS: A couple of weeks ago, I became a grand-dad for the second time. Priceless ...