Kids And Grand Kids, There's Not Much Difference

     When Danny and Clay were still toddlers they were very close, Clay looked up to his big brother and Danny in turn was quite proud of his little brother. Oh, they fought from time to time but in the end Danny looked out for Clay and proudly introduced Clay as his brother to everyone they met.
     When we lived in Kansas Danny was five years old and Clay was almost three, there were not too many kids their age to play with but there was a four year old living next door. One day the neighbor boy was playing with Danny as Clay napped on the couch, at some point the neighbor boy jumped on Clay and Danny jumped on the neighbor boy to pull him off Clay - they rolled off the couch on to the floor with Clay on the bottom of the pile. When Linda pulled everybody apart Clay had a broken leg that required hospitalization in a hospital sixty miles away, he was in traction for six weeks and a body cast for another six weeks.
     During Clay's stay in the hospital, Linda would stay with Clay and I would get Danny after work and drive to the Hospital so Linda could have a break and visit with Danny while I sat with Clay. Danny was worried about Clay and may have even thought he was to blame, he was too young to visit Clay in the hospital so Linda and I did what we could  for both of them. Needless to say Danny was glad to see Clay when he came home even though he was in a body cast.
     Clay was always a quite child to the point that Linda became concerned because he wasn't developing a vocabulary as he should. Danny had been a chatterbox when he was Clay's age, still was for that matter, any time someone asked Clay a question Danny answered it. Linda's concern grew to the point that she consulted Clay's doctor, after a careful examination and listening to Linda the doctor concluded that everything would be fine if Danny would let Clay speak for himself. The doctor said that as long as Danny talked for Clay there was no reason for Clay to talk. Once we got Danny to shut up Clay started talking and the decibel levels increased dramatically in our house.
     Fast forward about thirty five years, Danny and Marie have MJ and her little brother Matthew, at this point I would like to say Matthew is a little brother in name only, he may be two years younger than MJ but he out weighs her and is just about as tall.
     The first time Matthew and MJ met, MJ seemed somewhat unconcerned, she had just spent her first night away from Mom and Dad and as good as it was to spend time with Grandpa it was even better to see Mom and Dad again. It took a while but she finally warmed up to having a little brother,  like their father and uncle they would be insufferable one minute and inseparable the next.
     Even though they occasionally played with some other kids in the neighbor they became the best of friends. Sometimes they will crawl into bed with each other and recently they have a camping out night where they sleep in sleeping bags under a makeshift tent in their bedroom.
     Kay and I usually pick them up on a weekly basis and take them places. MJ like her Dad is the chatterbox or social butterfly, poor Matthew can hardly get a word in when she is around but he does pretty well when he is alone with us. Matthew was sad when MJ went to school, he lost his playmate but he would wait patiently for the bus to bring her home and she would tell Matthew, Mom and Dad all about the things she learned and did that day. Matthew was excited to start kindergarten this year as he would get to ride the school bus.
      Kay and I picked them up one day and headed out to where ever we were going when Kay engaged them in conversation. When Kay asked Matthew what he learned in school that week he didn't say anything so she asked MJ what Matthew might learn in school, without thinking about it MJ told us that when she was in kindergarten she learned that not all of the white rocks on the playground are rocks, some are bird poop.
     Danny recently posted a story about Matthew on FB, seems Danny was reading a book to Matthew about bananas. When the story was over Matthew told his Dad that wanted to get a banana tree, Danny explained to Matthew it was not hot enough to grow a banana tree at their house. I need to interject here that we have been having record breaking heat and humidity this summer, about 79 days of 90 + degrees. Sometime in the next day or so Matthew was outside playing in the heat and humidity, he came in dripping in sweat, he wiped sweat from his eyes and proclaimed it was hot enough to grow bananas out side, smart kid.
     The last time Kay and I had the kids with us Kay was once again engaging them in conversation while I drove, they got on the subject of fingers and Kay was asking MJ if she knew which finger was the index finger and MJ showed her then she told us which was the ring finger and then the pinky finger but then MJ excitedly told us that the middle finger was the ugly finger, it was ugly if you pointed it at anybody.
     It is nice to know that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Danny made another post to FB recently. Every night he and Marie let the kids pick out a book then he and Marie read to them or in the case of MJ she reads to them as much as she can, afterwards Marie is in the habit of singing a song she made up for the kids. Well this particular night Marie had to work late so she wasn't there to sing to them, Matthew was so sad that he wouldn't hear a song that MJ sat beside him and sang to him just like Marie. To coin a phrase "no greater love has a big sister that she would sing to her little brother in his time of sorrow". I hope they never change.
     I was retired when MJ was born, she was not quite two years old when Linda passed and doesn't remember her Grandmother. We knew a grandson was on the way when Linda passed away, she was sad she would not get to meet him, since then I have been writing stories about Linda so they will know her.
     It has been fun watching MJ and Matthew grow. MJ is a lot like her Dad, a social butterfly. Matthew on the other hand is still working on his persona although Marie thinks he favors her personality. They still have a lot of growing before it will be known who they are and who they will be, I doubt I will be around to see the end results so I will take what I can get now and be happy with that but then again, there is a slight chance that I might stick around, I hope so.



















   

Letter To MJ and Matthew

Dear MJ and Matthew,

     Recently there has been a lot of hoopla brought about by a bunch of teenage kids saying that there parents and grandparents have destroyed their chances for a future because the climate is quickly changing for the worse. Young people are holding protest across the country and around the world claiming that life on earth is nearing the end because of climate change, some say the end is coming in just a few years while others claim the end is happening in six more days. TV newscast, newspapers and social media on the internet are inundated with tearful youngsters begging the powers that be take action now to save the world from destruction.
     The other night, while looking at Facebook, I ran across a news feed depicting a young girl prominent in this movement, tears ran down her face as she angrily shouted at officials  pleading with them to do something. Seems that as I have gotten older I have become more opinionated on some subjects and sometimes have no problem letting people know how I feel, this was one of those times. I went on Facebook and posted a letter to the kids who claim that all of the ills of the world are the fault of the older generation, you probably won't see the letter, especially if the world ends in the next six days, but I feel that you should know what was said.
     To make a long story short, the claim that climate change is destroying the world and climate change is caused by excessive use of fossil fuels has been rolling around for quite some time. The first warnings came about in 1896 when scientist predicted that excess CO2 from humans would cause global warming. In 1968 it was predicted that the ozone levels were being depleted by excess levels of CO2 and causing the ice caps to melt and therefore the sea levels are going to rise to catastrophic levels flooding major portions of the earth. 1970 brought about the claim that the chemicals used in the aerosol of spray cans was creating a giant hole in the ozone layer of the atmosphere which in turn was causing world wide droughts. Burning certain types of coal caused ozone depletion, exhaust fumes emitted from driving automobiles caused depletion of the ozone. Add to this the dire predictions, from scientist, politicians, movie stars and anyone with a high degree of self importance, that life on earth will end in fifteen years, twenty five years or even next week. Accordingly life on earth as we know it was scheduled to end several times during my lifetime yet her I sit writing a letter to you guys.
     So, what is the truth behind climate change ? Well I don't know and have serious reservations that anyone else knows for certain but what I do know is that the earth has been undergoing changes since it's creation, over time whole continents have shifted their position, whole species of animals, plants, fish and birds have disappeared while others evolved.
     Since the creation of families it has been the responsibility of the parents to raise and teach their offspring how to be parents and hope that the children might turn out to be better at it than they were. I can say for sure that my grandparents hoped that my parents would be better parents than they were and inherit a better world, the same held for my parents towards me and me towards your Dad.
     Now then, is the world a better place ? Look at things this way, there was a time when most of mankind thought the earth was flat and sailors who sailed their ships too far would fall off the edge and never be heard from again. Generations later the earth was found to be not only round but it also revolved around the son, the moon revolved around the earth and controlled the tides of the seas. This new found knowledge improved man kinds world and made it a better place. One hundred years ago the horse was still a major form of transportation for many people and many households still didn't have electricity but modern inventions and advances improved the lives of people every where with each generation. We have come a long way and each generation has left it's mark, most people think for the better but not without some bitterness.
     What all this hoopla boils down to is really quite simple, at least in my mind, the problem is the older generation and the new generation. The older generation with the tools available have done the best they could then they reach an age where they can't see that any further improvement is possible, all of a sudden they long for the simple life they once had. They can't always see that the youths they created are going in the right direction. On the other hand, the younger generation rebels against all of the status quo, they have reached an age where they now know every thing there is to know. This rebellion usually last through the mid twenties to early thirties at which time the younger generation realizes they are now in the drivers seat and if anything is going to change they must work to make it happen.
     For young people to rebel is a natural consequence of maturing and each generation has gone through the process, they eventually come to a place in their life where they settle down and face responsibility and become the very thing they rebelled against. It's called the circle of life, I am my father's son, in time I have become my father and I have done the best I could to make a better life for my son just as he will do for you.
     There is nothing new here, the world has been through this crisis many times before and will endure future clashes. The world today is a better place today than it was yesterday, it is not perfect it waits for you to leave your mark on it. Good luck.



           Grandpa