There was once a teacher whose job it was to visit children in a big hospital and help them keep up with their lessons. When she was given the name and room number of one particular boy, she first called his regular teacher and learned that his class was studying nouns and verbs.
When each of my children was born in England, the hospital gave every new father a set of things to think about. Let me quote them here and see if they resonate.
Not too long ago, a famous aerial acrobat suffered a bad fall from his high trapeze. He barely escaped death. Later, in an interview, he said that as soon as his bones mended, he would be back up in the air again.
There’s a story told about a church organist who played one of those old-fashioned organs – the type that had to be pumped by hand to get air flowing through the pipes and reeds. It was no small honor to be selected to be the boy or girl who operated the hand pump.
