A Good Story
S chooses to wander through the rose garden. W, H, and E choose to lay down on the “awesome grass.”
H is standing on top of a burial mound that’s thousands of years old and yells out over the other visitors at the site: “I am standing on the dead people!”
S has the questionable wisdom to “show” the boys how she was taught in self-defense class how to throw an attacker over her shoulder. One boy immediately asks “Why didn’t you take self-ATTACK class?”
W pulled out a loose tooth at bedtime last night, yelling through the dark and massive amounts of blood: “I did it!”
E summoned his brothers to his bedroom this evening so they could watch his “power tackle” of dad.
These are our boys.
And here’s what they taught me today:
During an extended drive, we listened to an excerpt from The Dangerous Book for Boys. It was the story of Douglas Bader, a daredevil of a man who lost both legs in a plane crash (because he was showing off to friends during stunts). He went on to fly for the RAF, shoot down German warplanes, and command pilots despite the loss of his legs … and so on.
In a tutorial frenzy, Suby and I quickly launched in to questions about courage and self-determination … and asked the boys about what goes through their minds when they hear these stories about commendable heroes.
One boy responded: “Nothing goes through my mind, dad. It’s just a good story.” His brothers nodded.
Right. Sometimes it’s just a good story.
Such a wonderful slice of your life…I mean, story…
So glad Bader’s story is being revisited – it inspired me as a child and we even have a VHS copy of the Kenneth Moore movie “Reach for the Sky” because I wanted to share it with my children. What glorious threads you guys are weaving together in your adventures.