The Crow

The Crow

“Delight in the little things.”

Rudyard Kipling

Dr. Thomas Phalen, child psychologist, was once asked, “How long does adolescence last?” He famously replied, “For a while.” That is because we all grow up at different rates. Some seem mature at 12, and others are quite immature at 21. Alas, I was in the latter group, as the story I’m about to tell reveals.

When I was about 19, I discovered making stained glass windows as a hobby, and I gradually turned it into my first business. One day, I was working on a window in the back of my parents’ garage, which I had converted into my stained-glass shop. Hearing some commotion out front on the street, I moved toward the open garage door to see what was going on.

Looking out, I quickly gathered the facts. The irksome ten-year-old twin boys who lived across the street had come across a dead crow lying on the asphalt. They were going nuts over their discovery and didn’t know what to do with the excitement of finding such a treasure. Yes, ten-year-old boys would view such a find as a treasure, that much I know for sure.

They were so excited that they were running around in circles while crying out to each other. The boys quickly decided that they should go get their friend from up the street to come see what they had found. And off they ran toward his house.

That’s when the adolescent in me came out. I decided to make their triumphant return a bit more exciting.

I hurried down the driveway toward the crow and picked it up. Originally, my plan was just to take it, but I decided it would be much more fun to place it in the small palm tree facing the street, at what I guessed would be about ten-year-old-boy eye level.

A few minutes later, I heard a cacophony of excited voices hurriedly approaching from up the street. When they arrived, the voices abruptly stopped as they realized the bird was gone.

Then, all at once, they saw it, and all three boys screamed, running off again, like a small herd of wild ponies.

And to my adolescent boy’s mind, it couldn’t get any better than that.

-Hank