Tag / reading

The Little Boy and the Old Man

Joel and Mary were in town a couple of weeks ago and they brought with them a present for Jack: “A Light In The Attic” by Shel Silverstein. I loved these poems when I was a kid and we’re enjoying them; it’s great fun to read about flying hippos, Whattifs who enter your head at night and Clarence Lee (who ordered new parents.)

But there are a few here that have a decidedly adult point of view and tell stories much deeper than most kids will realize. For example:

The Little Boy and the Old Man

Said the little boy, “Sometimes I drop my spoon.”
Said the little old man, “I do that too.”
The little boy whispered, “I wet my pants.”
“I do that too,” laughed the little old man.
Said the little boy, “I often cry.”
The old man nodded, “So do I.”
“But worst of all,” said the little boy, “it seems
Grown-ups don’t pay attention to me.”
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.
“I know what you mean,” said the little old man.

A Father's Gift: The Legacy of Memories

What pictures will my son remember when he comes to the plan granite marker over his father’s grave? What will my daughters remember? Or my wife?

I’ve resolved to give fewer lectures, to send fewer platitudes rolling their way, to give less criticism, to offer fewer opinions. From now on, I’ll give them pictures they can live by. Pictures that can comfort them, encourage them, and keep them warm in my absence.

Because when I’m gone, there will only be silence. And memories. Of all I could give to make their lives a little fuller, a little richer, a little more prepared for the journey ahead of them, nothing compares to the gift of remembrance. Pictures that show they are special, and that they are loved. Pictures that will be there when I am not. Pictures that have within them a redemption all their own.

– Ken Gire