A Child’s Questions
My children are all grown and it has been years since I have been peppered with questions from an inquisitive child.
Recently, I had a chance to spend about ten minutes with a seven year old boy. He was with a group of people at a dinner gathering- designed to celebrate Easter- when everyone in our family could be off work and in Knoxville.
We were at my father-in-law’s place in south Knox County. It’s near the French Broad River, and he has a couple of ponds on his place. The proximity to water, plentiful woods for shelter and food is a boon for wildlife.
We saw some herons headed for their roosting place, which led to questions about where they live and what they eat, and if they ever landed nearby. We talked about wild turkeys who hang out on the ridge overlooking the river. I told him about deer, and foxes, and other critters who shared the land.
He asked about the fence separating us from the neighbor’s cows, which led to an explanation of an electric fence, and never touching it.
A small rabbit- probably an early 2005 model scampered down to some brush that had been piled up- an easy place to seek shelter from the foxes and raccoons. We talked about whether the rabbit had a white tail,since it was late in the day and a little too dark to see clearly in the distance.
There was an involved discussion about the pond: What kind of fish were there, how big, could they pull you into the pond if you caught them,what do you do when you catch them (release them). Can we come back and fish?
I drank in the questions. They were simple, straight forward, innocent, and intellegent. And, for the most part, I could answer them to his satisfaction.
I silently wished all of life’s questions were so easily and innocently asked and answered.
