Says who? by Patricia A. Smith From the moment we are born, there are plenty of people around who will dictate how we should act or what we should be. Be this, do that, don’t say that; do not pass go, do not collect $200. Buy now, pay later. Go around the board and start all over again. One day the shoe, the next day the hat. It’s still the same damn game. All this for what? I was told as a child that I should not laugh so loudly. Why not? Are the laughing police lurking in some corner waiting to haul me in for one big guffaw? I think not. We raise our children to tell the truth but often castigate them for doing just that. How many times has an innocent child piped up with the obvious statement or observation like, “Aunt Tillie needs to drop some weight,” or “That man smells bad,” before we briskly sweep the truth under the rug and shake our index fingers at said child for pointing out that the emperor indeed has no clothes. It’s maddening. My first drawing in kindergarten consisted of a purple dog making a green poop. The teacher called my mother in and asked her what was wrong with me. Thankfully, my mom had the foresight and understanding of my character to put the teacher in her place and tell her that I was highly creative. I was an active child who had no time to stand still for still life and I was lucky enough to have a parent that recognized it. There are millions of success stories that have been built on sheer will and determination. Behind many of those stories are countless tales of how everyone else was sure that these individuals would fail. If you’ve ever seen a large slab of cement with a lone root from a shrub breaking through to find sunlight and grow a tiny leaf, you know what I’m talking about. Not an architect or contractor can stop that force of nature from finding its way through the darkness to make itself known. For every single thing I have been told I cannot, should not say or do, I say, “Harrumph.”
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 18:06:50 +0000
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