Saturday, July 30, 2005

[1818 - Emily Bronte, novelist, born in Thornton, Yorkshire]

[1857 - Thorstein Veblen, economist, author, born in Valders, Wisconsin]

[1863 - Henry Ford, auto manufacturer, born in Dearborn, Michigan]

[1890 - Casey (Charles Dillon) Stengel, baseball player, HoF manager, born in Kansas City, Missouri]

[1898 - Henry Moore, sculptor, born in Castleford, Yorkshire]

[1945 - Japanese sub sinks USS Indianapolis (CA-35); of a crew of 1,196 only 318 survive]

Grandpa Moment #1

Grandson number two (precocious three-year-old) is visiting. We are in the backyard near an area of crushed rock with a stepping stone path through it. He, running down the path, went down kind of hard. First impulse: run to him, snatch him up, tend to the wounds, if any. Then, the thought; maybe an opportunity to teach.

Walk to the child and pick him up. He is crying by now. Instead of making a fuss that might alarm him further, just hold him close for comfort, and ask in as normal a tone as possible:
"Did you get hurt?"
"I stubbed my toe, grandpa."
"You know, it's a funny thing about stubbed toes. They hurt for just a little while and then hardly at all."
"You're right grandpa, it doesn't hurt any more."

Put him down again so that he can go on with his business.

William's Whimsical Words:

Learning to deal with pain is an essential life skill.

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