I learned a life lesson in the first grade. Social status impressed my teacher, Mrs. Smith: if your dad was Somebody, she preferred you. Six years old may be young, but children are incredibly perceptive.
I was not preferred.
Later something interesting happened. My dad sang and played the guitar and periodically appeared on the John Chick Show, a live morning program featuring country music on KTUL TV out of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
I wanted to see my daddy on TV, so my mother sent a note to say I would miss school that day. When Mrs. Smith discovered the reason for my planned absence, she told me to come to school and our class would watch the program together.
Smart man that he is, my daddy dedicated a song—I think it was Puff the Magic Dragon, a childhood favorite—to Mrs. Smith’s first grade class.
Not surprisingly, my daddy became a Somebody and I rose in Mrs. Smith’s estimation.
Although I recognized what happened, I didn’t like this ranking game: my tender heart rebelled against it. It still does.
Read the rest of the story today at (in)courage!
