Rob Wood's Blog - Posts Tagged "1950-s"
Family Business
My four year old grandson, Wyatt, came up from Uvalde, Texas for a visit recently and as usual, the first thing he wanted to do was go on a hike. He knew full well that the word “no” wasn’t in my vocabulary regarding such matters, so we filled his canteen and headed out. After a while, we reached the top of a modest hill and Wyatt (for my benefit I’m sure) suggested, “Grandpa, let’s take a rest by that big tree.” I wasn’t about to argue. We stretched out on our backs in the sweet grass, hands folded behind our heads and elbows pointed to the sky…like twins. We sat in silence enjoying the smells of spring and soon found ourselves eyeball-to-eyeball with a big bay gelding named Buster. The broomtail was looking us over carefully and his eyes were saying, “I sure hope you two don’t have a saddle with you. I hate giving pony rides.” We quietly returned his gaze until Wyatt broke the silence with a sincere question that caught me flat footed, “Grandpa, why don’t horses wear pajamas?” I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Now, up to that point in my life I considered myself fairly knowledgeable in matters regarding horses, but his question left me momentarily tongue-tied. After a bit, I gathered my wits and came back with, “That sounds like a great title for a children’s book.”
Wyatt bounced back with, “Can we write a book together about why horses don’t wear pajamas?”
I thought to myself, That might be a fun little project and a good way to spend some quality time together. We marched back to the house and after a careful inspection for ticks, we sat down with a notebook and engaged in what I expected to be a futile but well intended attempt to co-author a short book. To my surprise, here’s what “WE” came up with:
Why Don’t Horses Wear Pajamas?
By Wyatt James Wood and Grandpa
Why don’t horses wear pajamas?
Why don’t puppies, ducks or Llamas?
Why don’t tigers wear a shirt?
Like my mommy wears a skirt.
Dogs go outside and don’t wear coats,
so do chickens, sheep and goats.
I’ve never seen a cow wear socks…
never pigs or bright peacocks.
When it’s cold I wear my mittens.
I’ve never seen them worn by kittens.
My grandpa wears a cowboy hat.
It would sure look funny on a cat.
My mother says to wear my hat…
I’ve never seen a giraffe do that.
It looks like penguins should wear a tie.
It looks like penguins should learn to fly.
It looks like a tux that penguins wear.
But it just turns out to be their hair.
We went to the zoo and I saw a bear…
But he wasn’t wearing underwear.
Why don’t Hippos wear rubber boots?
Why don’t fish wear swimming suits?
Why don’t horses wear pajamas?
I guess I’ll have to ask their mommas.
What a special afternoon we had matching animals, articles of clothing and rhymes. Yes, many of the lines were his…with a little help. I learned a valuable lesson that day: Never underestimate the mind of a four year old. I’m seriously considering signing the boy to a long term contract to help me with my writing. RW
Now, up to that point in my life I considered myself fairly knowledgeable in matters regarding horses, but his question left me momentarily tongue-tied. After a bit, I gathered my wits and came back with, “That sounds like a great title for a children’s book.”
Wyatt bounced back with, “Can we write a book together about why horses don’t wear pajamas?”
I thought to myself, That might be a fun little project and a good way to spend some quality time together. We marched back to the house and after a careful inspection for ticks, we sat down with a notebook and engaged in what I expected to be a futile but well intended attempt to co-author a short book. To my surprise, here’s what “WE” came up with:
Why Don’t Horses Wear Pajamas?
By Wyatt James Wood and Grandpa
Why don’t horses wear pajamas?
Why don’t puppies, ducks or Llamas?
Why don’t tigers wear a shirt?
Like my mommy wears a skirt.
Dogs go outside and don’t wear coats,
so do chickens, sheep and goats.
I’ve never seen a cow wear socks…
never pigs or bright peacocks.
When it’s cold I wear my mittens.
I’ve never seen them worn by kittens.
My grandpa wears a cowboy hat.
It would sure look funny on a cat.
My mother says to wear my hat…
I’ve never seen a giraffe do that.
It looks like penguins should wear a tie.
It looks like penguins should learn to fly.
It looks like a tux that penguins wear.
But it just turns out to be their hair.
We went to the zoo and I saw a bear…
But he wasn’t wearing underwear.
Why don’t Hippos wear rubber boots?
Why don’t fish wear swimming suits?
Why don’t horses wear pajamas?
I guess I’ll have to ask their mommas.
What a special afternoon we had matching animals, articles of clothing and rhymes. Yes, many of the lines were his…with a little help. I learned a valuable lesson that day: Never underestimate the mind of a four year old. I’m seriously considering signing the boy to a long term contract to help me with my writing. RW
