If everyone in the world would acknowledge one universal truth, life would be better for everyone. Unfortunately, some go their entire lives without knowing what this truth is. Not knowing, I believe, accounts for a lot of needless pain and sorrow in this world.
The universal truth was finally revealed to me last week. But to take credit for this discovery would be wrong of me. The insight, like many in our marriage, came from The Wife. Although had I known it in my youth, all those difficult times in school, and life up to this point, would have been more bearable.
So what is this universal truth about every person on Earth? The answer to that question is at the end of this story. Here’s the beginning.
At Briarwood High School, home of the Mighty Buccaneers, there were the “Invisible Kids.” (I know I’m categorizing here, but it’s serving a purpose.) Invisible Kids never got a second look from the mainstream as they walked those hallowed hallways, but eventually they began to understand the truth and started to band together in small groups.
Rather than shout what they were beginning to understand to the world, they mumbled it under their breath as they walked along with only their fellow invisibles for company.
The Invisible Kids weren’t just at Briarwood. They roamed the hallways of every high school back then, and you can see them in every high school still today.
During much of my younger life, those with curly or red hair (unlike the straight, brunette or blonde hair that the fashion magazines swore was all the rage) and the tallest, shortest, heaviest, and skinniest kids in school didn’t yet understand or be able to harness this truth’s real power. It would take a while to sink in. Sadly, some would never know or even have the resilience even to understand.
After haunting my childhood, my lack of understanding of this universal truth followed me into adulthood. However, after The Wife’s recent revelation, I feel compelled to share her enlightenment. I can only hope that our two granddaughters, Little One and Sweet Caroline, will understand this truth much earlier in life than I did and celebrate it rather than feel ashamed.
The Wife and I watched our granddaughters Thursday night and then took them in the morning to Mom’s Day Out at a local preschool. After dropping them off, I sighed. It was the start of their being out in the world.
I said, “Hope they don’t get made fun of. Little One has curly hair and Sweet Caroline’s is bright red. Kids can be cruel sometimes to someone who’s different. I hope they fit in. The world needs to be kind to them. They’re our sweet little angels.”
Seeing the concern etched in my face, The Wife leaned over, gave me a kiss, and a reassuring hug, “They’ll be fine. They have lots of folks that love them,” she said. “Besides, don’t you know? We’re all different. No one fits in. That’s the universal truth.”
[Rick Ryckeley has been writing stories since 2001. To read more of Rick’s stories, visit his blog: storiesbyrick.wordpress.com.]
