Jul 19, 2011

What is a boy?

Between the innocence of babyhood and the dignity of manhood we find a delightful creature called a boy. Boys come in assorted sizes, weights, and colors, but all boys have the same creed: to enjoy every second of every minute of every hour of every day and to protest with noise (their only weapon) when their last minute is finished and the adult males pack them off to bed at night.

Boys are found everywhere—on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around, or jumping to. Mothers love them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers tolerate them, adults ignore them, and Heaven protects them. A boy is Truth with dirt on its face, Beauty with a cut on its finger, Wisdom with bubble gum in its hair, and the Hope of the future with a frog in its pocket.

When you are busy, a boy is an inconsiderate, bothersome, intruding jangle of noise. When you want him to make a good impression, his brain turns to jelly or else he becomes a savage, sadistic, jungle creature bent on destroying the world and himself with it.

A boy is a composite—he has the appetite of a horse, the digestion of a sword-swallower, the energy of a pocket-sized atomic bomb, the curiosity of a cat, the lungs of a dictator, the imagination of a Paul Bunyan, the shyness of a violet, the audacity of a steel trap, the enthusiasm of a firecracker, and when he makes something, he has five thumbs on each hand.

He likes ice cream, knives, saws, Christmas, comic books, the boy across the street, woods, water (in its natural habitat), large animals, Dad, trains, Saturday mornings, and fire engines. He is not much for Sunday School, company, schools, books without pictures, music lessons, neckties, barbers, girls, overcoats, adults, or bedtime.

Nobody else is so early to rise, or so late to supper. Nobody else gets so much fun out of trees, dogs, and breezes. Nobody else can cram into one pocket a rusty knife, a half-eaten apple, three feet of string, an empty Bull Durham sack, two gum drops, six cents, a slingshot, a chunk of unknown substance, and a genuine supersonic code ring with a secret compartment.

A boy is a magical creature—you can lock him out of your workshop, but you can’t lock him out of your heart. You can get him out of your study, but you can’t get him out of your mind. Might as well give up—he is your captor, your jailer, your boss, and your master—a freckled-faced, pint-sized, cat-chasing, bundle of noise. But when you come home at night with only shattered pieces of your hopes and dreams, he can mend them like new with two magic words, "Hi Dad!" ("Hi Mom!")

Note: An excerpt from The Treasure Chest. Quotes by Alan Beck.


12 comments:

sm said...

lol
great read
atomic bomb

Kavita Saharia said...

That was wonderful .I have three right now in my home -my own and cousins - daughter sulking in a corner ,they jumping all around the house .Boys !

Bikram said...

:) thats what we Boys are .. so true

Bikram's

Amrit said...

Can't we say the same for 'A Girl'?

R. Ramesh said...

haaha my friend sm said...atomic bomb..:) he is a gr8 blogger

Tomz said...

Wonderful read..and tell me, What was that 'Treasure Chest?'

NRIGirl said...

Tomz! It is a beautifully bound book I found at the local library...

The Treasure Chest; A Heritage Album Containing 1064 Familiar and Inspirational Quotations, Poems, Sentiments, and Prayers from Great Minds of 2500 Years

Sh@s said...

Terrific description.

adithyasaravana said...

OH iam relating everything with my son.. and of course my brother's son..super post.. ( as my son would tell)

adithyasaravana said...

i read this one to my colleagues in work place,. They too enjoyed a lot,. There are three moms and a dad here.( excluding me ) thanks for sharing. And kavitha was limping today because her one year old boy dropped a shaving bottle on her foot,.she was asking me to forward this to her,. I gave your blog id to see for herself,.

Irfanuddin said...

wow...that was really wonderful read......:))

NRIGirl said...

Mom read it first and suggested I read it. I just loved it and so decided to share. I am so glad you all liked it.

Joshua my son seems a typical boy described here. I can very well imagine Israel and you guys when you were little boys.

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