Wall Wisdom

If walls could talk, we would share our wisdom with humanity. We watch humans live, laugh, cry, suffer, love, and die. Though not human, we understand much of what it means to be alive. I could fill volumes with what I’ve discovered, but knowing how easily humans bore, will only touch on a few experiences.

A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way

Monsoon season had just arrived, and a gigantic storm was brewing. While the sun prepared to set in the West, a massive wall of black clouds was forming in the East. I had a gorgeous view from my perch on the side of the fort in the Smith’s backyard. As a simple wall - just a single sheet of plywood - I could witness events both inside and outside the fort. Setting atop four wooden legs, the fort had a superb view of the backyard, house, as well as the other side of the fence that bordered the yard. That’s where I first noticed the sketchy character.

At the far end of the crosswalk, a man sat on the sidewalk staring wistfully in my direction. He looked like he had just fought his way out of a cardboard box and recently been living in one as well. Thunder rolled as the clouds slowly marched towards the West. The man shivered and shook his head, then stood up and slowly crossed the street. He headed straight to the Smith’s door and rang the bell.

Tommy Smith’s 10-year-old mouth fell open when he saw the sketchy stranger standing at the door.

“Hi, is your dad here?” the man said. “I have an important question.”

“Um, I’ll get him.” Tommy said. “Wait here.”

The door closed for a minute, then reopened to show a concerned Mr. Smith.

“Can I help you?” Mr. Smith asked.

“Hello, sir,” said the man. “My name is Kirk. I used to live near here with my mom. She kicked me out because I’m an addict. I’m working on being sober so I can move back in with her. It’s going to rain tonight, and I was wondering if I could stay in that fort in your backyard just until the rain is done. It looks like a great shelter and would keep me dry even when the wind picks up. I don’t have anything to pay you with now, but I’m going to get a job and could pay you later.”

“Kirk, My name is Jeff Smith. Do you mind if I come out and talk with you for a bit before I make a decision?

“No, of course not,” replied the man.

“I’ll be right out,” said Jeff.

Two minutes later Jeff and Kirk were walking around the driveway getting to know each other a little better. While they spoke Tommy and his little brother Peter came to the backyard to swept out the fort. Then they stood near the fence where they could hear the conversation better.

“Mom has put up with it for a long time,” Kirk said. ”Last week was the final straw. She kicked me out and said she didn’t want to see me until I was clean. That woke me up. I’ve been clean three days now. It may not sound like much, but it’s been years since I could say that.”

“Kirk, I’m sorry you’re going through this,” said Jeff. “I’m glad your mom cares enough to make hard choices and I’m proud of you for being clean for three days in a row. That’s a huge accomplishment. I think the least we can do is let you stay in the fort tonight.”

“Really? You don’t even know me.”

“From what you’ve told me I know enough,” said Jeff. “The boys have already swept out the fort for you. Let’s get you settled.”

Jeff and the boys brought Kirk through the gate and over to the fort. The man looked up at the approaching storm and back at the man and his boys.

“Thank you!” he said. “This means a lot.”

“You’re welcome,” said Jeff.

Just then the back door opened and Mrs. Smith came out with a tray full of food.

“We can’t have our guest go hungry,” she said.

“Mrs. Smith, you didn’t need to do this. I was only looking for a place to stay dry.”

“Please, call me Sara,” she replied. “It’s my pleasure. We have a sleeping bag you can use as well.”

***

The next morning, Jeff came to the Fort before he left for work.

“Kirk, I have good news.”

“What is it?”

“I spoke with your mom a few minutes ago and she’s agreed to let you come home,” Jeff said. “There are conditions of course, but she was excited to hear that you’d been sober for three days.”

“That’s wonderful news!” replied Kirk. “And I’ve been sober for four days now!”

Words Can Hurt and Heal

One morning, all the kids wore jackets or sweaters as they trekked to school. The first cold snap of the season had arrived. Everyone’s attention turned to something large and pink that had turned the corner and was struggling toward the crosswalk.

A very large girl in a tight pink sweatsuit was fighting her bike as she tried to pick up speed after rounding the corner. Sweat beaded her forehead as she bore down against the pedals, but the bike did not want to hurry. Chagrined, she dismounted the bike at the crosswalk and looked at the ground, ignoring the other kids.

“Hey, did you see her tires?” said a boy? “She’s so fat they went flat!”

Everyone but the girl laughed as they formed a half circle blocking her way.

“Nice, outfit,” said another boy. “Too bad doesn’t fit.”

Again, everyone but the girl laughed. She tried to get past the crowd, but they were having too much fun to let the victim leave.

Just then, Tommy and Peter approached the crosswalk with their bikes.

“What’s going on?” asked Tommy.

“Check out her bike,” the first kid said. “She’s so fat the tires went flat.”

The half circle laughed again. The girl was on the verge of tears now.

“You must not know much about bikes,” Tommy said drawing everyone’s attention. “When it gets cold like this the air pressure in tires goes down and they seem flat. Our tires were low this morning too. We had to fill them before we left the house.”

He pointed to his house and then said to the girl, “Bring you bike over here and we’ll fill up you tires. You can ride to school with us.”

The girl looked stunned by his offer to help her.

“Come on!” called Tommy already headed to his house.

As the girl walked her bike over to Tommy’s driveway the crowd dispersed. Soon Tommy had a bike pump connected to her front tire and started filling it with air.

“Thank you,” the girl said.

“You’re welcome. My name’s Tommy. This is my brother Peter. What’s your name?”

“Gina. Why are you being nice to me?”

“Why not be nice to you?” Tommy said moving the pump to the other tire. “You seem like a nice person. You’re not a jerk like those kids back there.”

“I guess I’m just not used to kids being nice to me.”

“Well, you know where we live,” said Tommy. “If you ever need someone to be nice to you just stop by. I mean it.”

He set the pump over the fence, then said, “Let’s go to school.”

The kids headed off to school. Each with a bigger smile than they ever had before on their way to school.

Life is Precious

One day Tommy and his dad came out in the backyard with a BB gun. They set up a box with a target on it and Mr. Smith listened as Tommy reviewed the safety rules for shooting the gun. Tommy then took some shots and hit near the bullseye each time.

“Great job,” Mr. Smith said. “I’m trusting you to shoot without me being out here with you on three conditions: One, follow all the safety rules we just went over. Two, nobody else can be in the backyard, even if they’re behind you. Three, no shooting birds or anything else that’s alive.”

“No birds? What about pigeons? They’re stupid birds. Nobody cares about them,” Tommy said.

“How about we simplify the third rule,” the man said. “You kill it, you eat it!”

“But that’s dumb. What about you? You get to go hunting. You shot that huge elk!”

“Ah, but that’s the rule I live by,” his father said. “Yes, I shot an elk and have the antlers to remember it. But that’s not all the elk provided for me. Maybe you’re too young to remember, but the elk filled our freezer and others’ as well. It kept our family and friends well fed for quite a while.”

“Oh,” said the boy. “I forgot about that. Those elk burgers were really good.”

“How often have we gone fishing and caught a fish just to leave it laying on the ground somewhere for fun?” asked Mr. Smith.

“We’d never do that!” said Tommy, visibly repulsed by the idea. “We either catch and release or save them to eat.”

“Why?”

“Because killing an animal without using it is wasting life,” the boy said.

“Precisely,” said the man. “Is a fish more precious than a bird?”

“No,” said Tommy. “I understand.”

“Good. Then I’ll tell you the one exception to the ‘You kill it, you eat it rule’,” his father said with a sly look on his face.

“Really? What’s that?”

“Cockroaches!” the man said with a big grin and they both enjoyed a good laugh.

***

Tommy came outside almost every day after that to shoot at the target. Two weeks later, while taking aim, a pigeon landed on the ground a few feet from the target. The barrel of the rifle moved slightly and Tommy squeezed the trigger.

POP!

The pigeon fluttered for a few seconds then went still. Tommy slowly approached the bird, a look of shock on his face. As he studied the bird, shock wore away to sadness.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry bird. I’m sorry dad.”

The boy carefully set his gun and BBs in the fort then grabbed a shovel. He dug a small hole near the corner of the yard. He carefully scooped the bird up then walked to the corner of the yard and gently let the bird slide into the hole. Head bowed, he was silent for a moment before speaking.

“I’m sorry God,” Tommy whispered. “I killed this bird even though I knew I wasn’t going to eat it. I wasted life. Please tell the bird I’m sorry.”

Head still bowed, the boy gently replaced the earth over the hole. When he finally looked up, his cheeks were wet.

Death Can be Conquered

Davey and Jared were inseparable. Born a day apart and next-door neighbors they were essentially twins. They played in the backyard together almost daily. The fort had been their rocket ship and taken them to Mars, the Moon, as well as the Sun. As a time machine, it had taken them to see dinosaurs roam the earth and the building of the Pyramids. Sometimes Tommy and Peter let them join them for camp-outs in the fort.

Now that they were in school the boys walked to and from school together every day. Like clockwork, they peered into the large concrete irrigation box on the far corner - sometimes for minutes- before checking for traffic and using the crosswalk to cross the street. They were often still discussing what they had seen in the box as then entered the backyard. It varied, but usually had to do with waterfalls and fish or other sea creatures.

One day, as the boys were looking in the irrigation box, Jared noticed a neighbor kid riding by on a bike and ran after him. Davey continued to concentrate on whatever he was imagining in the box. Jared followed the rider into the crosswalk. Just then a car came around the corner. Not only had the driver failed to stop at the stop sign, but they had barely slowed down for the turn. The driver slammed on the brakes just before the car entered the crosswalk. The bike rider was already safely on the sidewalk, but Jared was not so lucky.

The sound of the tires skidding against the asphalt silenced all other sound in the neighborhood. The kid on the bike looked behind him, nearly fell over, then slowly came to a stop. He sat down next to his bike and made the sign of the cross. Davey looked next to him where Jared had been standing only seconds before, then began looking around. He noticed a car parked in the crosswalk and hesitated before trying to cross the street.

Walk behind the car! I silently willed, wishing that just this once I could interact with those I’d silently watched for years. Please don’t look in front of the car.

A young woman got out of the car just as Davey entered the crosswalk, blocking his view of the front the car. She was crying.

“Hey, was that your friend that just ran across the street?” the woman asked.

“Probably,” Davey said. “I’m not sure where he went. I don’t see him.”

“Do you guys live near here?” she asked?

“Yes, I live right there and Jared lives next door.”

“Good,” said the girl. “Go get your mom or dad. I need to talk to them.”

“OK,” said Davey.

Davey appeared confused but turned away from the girl and walked behind the car and towards his house. By the time he got to the door he was running.

Mrs. Smith came to the crosswalk a few minutes later. Police and EMTs were already on scene. Jared’s mom arrived soon after that. The police requested to speak with Davey to find out if he had seen anything. His mom held his hand as they walked up to the crosswalk but stayed behind the car.

The officer he spoke with remarked on how brave it was to come this close to where his friend had been hurt. When asked what he had seen, Davey explained he had heard the car slam on its brakes but didn’t see the accident happen. He had been looking into the waterfall in the irrigation box and imagining he was a bear catching salmon.

“Is Jared going to die?” he asked the officer.

“I don’t know,” the officer said. “Jared was hurt bad. We’re going to take him to the hospital and do everything we can to help him.”

“Will he get to ride in an ambulance?” the boy asked.

“Not this time,” said the officer. “We’re to the hospital in a helicopter so he can get to the hospital as fast as possible.”

“Cool!” said the boy. “Jared gets to ride in a helicopter.”

“It will be here any minute. If you wait here next to my patrol car with your mom, you can watch the helicopter land and take off if you’d like.”

“Can we mom?” the boy asked.

“Of course,” she said, hugging him close.

Seconds later all eyes turned skyward as a helicopter approached the neighborhood then descended to the street. Davey gripped his mom’s hand as he watched a stretcher wheeled out to meet the flying machine. Blades still running, EMTs quickly loaded their precious cargo, then backed away as the helicopter took off.

“Bye, Jared,” shouted Davey as he waved to the helicopter. “I hope they can help you get better.”

“Let’s go home.” Mrs. Smith said, checks wet from tears. “Would you like to watch TV while you wait for your brothers?”

“No, I think I’ll hang out in the fort.”

“OK,” said the woman.

Davey came to the fort and pretended to be a helicopter pilot and rescued people from a variety of accidents. After an hour or so, his mom slowly approached the fort with tear-streaked cheeks.

“Davey, can I come up and join you?” she asked.

“Sure, you can be my co-pilot since Jared isn’t here.”

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about Jared,” the woman said.

“What’s wrong?” Davey asked as she entered the fort revealing her wet cheeks.

“Davey, the doctors at the hospital tried as hard as they could, but they couldn’t save Jared,” his mom said. “He was hurt too bad. He died a little while ago. I’m so sorry, Honey.”

Tears filled her eyes, and she held him close.

“Mom, will I see Jared again?”

“Yes, but probably not for a long time,” the woman said. “When we die, we go to Heaven to live with God. That’s where Jared is. When you die, you’ll go to Heaven too and you’ll see Jared again. Most people don’t die until they’re old, so you probably won’t see Jared for quite some time.”

Tears came to Davey’s eyes.

“I’m going to miss Jared. Do you think he’ll miss me?”

“I’m sure he will,” Mrs. Smith said. “Your his best friend. He’ll always remember you.”

“Will he be lonely in Heaven without me?” the boy asked.

“That’s a great question,” his mom replied. “I don’t know everything about Heaven, but I do know that God is there with His angels. It’s a wonderful place with lots of fun things. Jared will get to be with God and the angels and other people that have died. He won’t be all alone. But he will always remember you and he will miss you.”

“I want you know that when someone you love dies, it’s normal to have lots of questions and different feelings,” she continued. “Sometimes it can be sad or confusing or even scary. Talking about these things helps so please ask questions like you are now when you have them. Please tell us about your feelings. We want to help you. We love you Davey.”

“I love you too mom. I have lots more questions I’m just not sure how to ask them.”

“That’s fine. You ask when you think you’re ready to try. Would you be OK going inside for a bit? Your brothers are home and would love to give you hugs.”

“Sure!” Davey said.

***

Davey continued to play in the fort almost daily. Much of the time was spend alone, but his brothers and parents also joined him often. He often had questions about death or had feelings that needed to be worked through. His parents welcomed the discussions and encouraged him to share what they talked about with the councilor he started seeing. The love and encouragement from Davey’s family was just what he needed to make Jared’s death an event that shaped Davey’s life rather than one that crippled it.

Why These Stories?

Some may question the wisdom in focusing on positive traits that I’ve observed in humans. To them I ask: Does focusing on sorrow lead to joy? Does hatred sow seeds of hope? Humanity is not perfect, but it is powerful. You can change and heal lives with just a few kind words or actions. See the people around you for what they are - living beings in need of kindness, just like you. Don’t waste their lives. Love and kindness conquer all. If you don’t believe me, just ask any wall. If they could talk, they’d tell you.