14 : He Deserves Respect

Two police cars blocked the intersection at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport. We had to stop our car about four cars back from the light to wait and see what was going on.

“Why are they just standing there, Mom?” Puck asked. “There’s no accident.”

“Don’t know, son.”

We waited a few minutes. Then I saw some lights flashing across the overpass.

“Look, Puck,” I told him. “It’s a police escort. They’re taking someone to the airport.”

State Troopers, Ballwin police…

“Oh,” I said, “I think…”

“Look, Mom,” Puck pointed. “See that yellow truck coming?”

“That’s an ambulance, bud. I think they’re escorting the police officer who was shot a few weeks ago to the airport.”

I guess all the other backed-up traffic got the same idea. No honking. No butting around on the shoulder. Everyone waited until the long line of flashing cars had passed.

“He deserves respect,” Puck concluded later.

Case closed.

We were in the Valley for new shoes. Adidas. I narrowed it down to one pair that I could afford, for a new 4th grader anyway. This kid destroys shoes so fast, I figured we’d try something with a little more quality behind the soles. I hoped. As Puck switched into his brand new black high tops with black laces in the car, he announced his verdict with great aplomb.

“Mom. I will never walk through anything gross in these shoes!”

After that, Puck spent most of his day with good school chum, Mickey, jumping on the trampoline and stuffing his face with ham and cheese sandwich, blueberries, grapes, and apples.

While he was in Chesterfield, little brother walked around the Big House with an empty whipped topping tub pressed firmly on his head for a hat. Eventually he wandered into the kitchen. And when it got quiet for twenty seconds too long, I walked over to inspect. There he was, pulling wads of old Dubble Bubble out of the trash for a good chew. Secondhand gum; nothing compares.

Puck’s Monthly What-do-You-Want-to-be-When-You-Grow-Up Status:

“A scientist and an explorer. You know.”