My oldest son recently joined the cub scouts. At our meeting tonight, I was delighted to hear that the topic of discussion for the evening was about manners. Specifically, the boys had to learn how to introduce a friend to someone new. Along with that we worked on shaking hands with a firm grip and making eye contact. Each of the boys took turns shaking my hand and practicing saying, "It's nice to meet you."
My son is brilliant, but social skills are not always his forte. Fortunately things were easy on him tonight since his dad was the one playing the part of the new guy, but the real test came later just as we pulled into the garage and were getting out of the car.
Stanley lives a few houses down. He's in his sixties, but suffered a brain injury when he was young and never returned to his previous state. He lives with his elderly dad and likes to take walks around the neighborhood. He saw us pull in and wanted to stop and talk for a minute. As I was standing in the driveway talking to Stan, he said, "Hey, I want to meet your son." He's met Zach before, but I immediately realized the opportunity that had just been presented and decided to go along with it.
I called Zach over and said, "Zach, this is Stanley," just like we had practiced at cub scouts. Of course, Zach remembered the routine, but he had a slight problem. Glancing down at his fingers, he realized that it would be inappropriate to shake someone's hand with orange Cheeto dust all over his finger tips. Being a typical eight-year-old, he did what any boy in his position would do. He licked his fingers and took hold of the outstretched hand. And Stanley didn't flinch.
Next week's cub scout lesson: How to make better use of a pair of jeans when meeting someone new.
1 comment:
Good job, Zachary. Glad you remembered that Cheetos may not make a good impression...they would make some kind of impression but not necessarily good. I think you got that manners lesson down pay. Keep up the good work! Love you.
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