Delta West Academy took charge of our two boys from Grades 1 to 12. In their early years, the boys’ greatest joy was the end of each school day when they could romp on the jungle gym and playground outside. There, they were joined by fellow students, whose mothers also brought their younger siblings to play.
One afternoon, I was sitting on a bench, lapping up the late spring sunshine, when a four-year-old approached me. Out of nowhere, he asked, “Mister, how old are you?”
“It’s a secret,” I said.
“Oh, go on. How old are you?”
“I told you, it’s a secret.”
The little monster persisted.
“All right,” I said, “but don’t tell anyone.”
“Promise.”
I whispered it to him.
“MOM! That man says he’s 92 years old,” the monster shouted across the playground.
Never talk to strangers (especially precocious four-year-olds) unless…. you need something from them.
