January 15, 1981

It's a difficult world when you're five years old. The wind carries magic, there are ghosts in the boughs of trees, people are twice your size, and time is something you don't learn about until second grade.
Insignificant, seemingly mundane things take on grand importance. Having twenty-five cents for the grocery store is cause for exaltation. Losing that same twenty-five cents is cause for tears.
In such a world waling home from school, a brief eighth of a mile by the odometer, is a long, treacherous excursion through unexplored land, replete with deadly beasts and dangerous terrain.
Aaron lives in such a world. His forty-five minute walk home, a walk which by all rights should take ten minutes, is never boring. A few weeks ago he arrived home and, throwing his coat on the floor where it belongs, he said, "You should have seen this light I saw!"
"You saw a light?" we responded, thing of the Damascus road.
"Yeh, I was walking down the road, you know, the one that goes by that tall building; the one with the cracked window on the one side and the little hole for the cats to hide in on the other side?"
Not wishing to act as though we were unfamiliar with the town, we nodded assuredly.
"Well, I was walking down that road and way off I saw a light. I started watching it 'cause I didn't know that it was and I fell over a rock. You should see the rocks they have down there. They are beautiful! I was laying there, down by that building, you know, the one with the broken window on the side, looking at the rocks. Here, let me show you. I brought some home."
We examined the beautiful brown rocks.
"Have you ever seen rocks like this before? I think the only place in the world you can find them is down by that old building, the one with the broken window on the side. Anyway, I was gathering the rocks when I saw my shoe string was broke. So I tried to fix it but I didn't do a very good job. You know that kid in my class? I forgot what his name is - he can't even tie his shoes yet. Brother! Do we have anything to eat? I got pretty hungry walking home."
We again asked about the light.
"Oh yeh. After I put these rocks in my pocket, I saw the light again, only now it was even bigger. It was almost as big as the sun. Can it hurt you to stand in the sun? There's this kid in my class who says the sun is our enemy. This other kid told him he was stupid. Is the sun really our enemy? Have you ever seen rocks like that before? I think there's a mine down there by that old building with the broken window. Those look like gold rocks, don't they? Look how they shine when you hold them like this."
The light was mentioned again.
"Yeh, well when I stood up the light was huge. I sure am hungry. When are we going to eat? You know what this kid brought for show and tell today? His own tooth! He said he pulled it out just to get money and so he could come to school and show it to us. Brother! Why do teeth fall out? Nothing else falls out, does it?"
About that light.
"Oh, yeh, it was a train. It almost killed me. It was just a little light and then all of a sudden it was a train. You should've seen me jump out of the way. I almost jumped over that building down there, the one with the broken window on the side."
The world of a five year old is a difficult place to live. It is a difficult world for parents as well.... ~T-Stucky