Way, way back in the now-abandoned days of radio and black and white TV, there used to be a variety show called “House Party”. The star of the show was Mr. Art Linkletter who was an easy going, likable, middle-aged host. One especially popular feature of the show was a segment called Kids Say the Darndest Things. Here, Mr. Linkletter would interview guests on any topic they wanted to talk about. It was mostly just a regular talk show concept with guests. Except, these guests were not your ordinary guests. They were very outspoken, precocious and slightly mischievous little darlings all between the ages of 3 and 12. Are you starting to see where this is going? Obviously, when the kids were interviewed by Mr. Linkletter, they were encouraged to say anything on their mind, and as you might imagine that was usually hilarious enough to get the whole studio audience rolling around with laughter for the entire length of the show.
I couldn’t help but think of that early show the other day when I happened to hear a story from an old friend of mine involving his little 4-year-old granddaughter. This little lady would have been perfect for the Art Linkletter show. She is a bright, talkative young thing who loves nothing more than riding in her grandpa’s car and going to see all the magnificent wonders of Walmart. Now, she and grandpa live in a neighboring county, and on their trips to Walmart they discuss the best route to travel as well as the traffic and road conditions. Sometimes they also briefly discuss grandpa’s driving skills. On one particular morning, grandpa was not paying real close attention to the potholes on Mabel Drive, and it did not surprise him when his granddaughter began noticing and commenting on the quality of the ride. “This road is bumpy” came the comment from the backseat. “Yes mam, it’s a little rough, but don’t let it bother you “, came the reply from the front. “It’s not your fault, gramps, Trump should pave it.” Grandpa figured it was best to change the subject, since it was getting political. But the princess was not satisfied. For the rest of the trip, she simply grunted “bump, bump” every time grandpa hit a pothole and interrupted their conversation. This 4-year-old had already learned the time-honored tradition of peaceful protest.
Once again, the power of an old saying or in this case an old scripture has been reaffirmed. If you want to get the real lowdown on a subject, just ask a 4-year-old or maybe an 8 year old. Out of those “mouths of babes” will come the whole profound, unfiltered truth without all the scholarly explanations and opinionated arguments. I remember one young first grader that couldn’t understand why we didn’t have a bird coop for all the pigeons that lived downtown on the roof of City Hall. Sometimes, you just have to accept the fact that some things just don’t have a good answer, and I finally admitted to that young man that I just didn’t know. I guess the lesson there is that every question is important to somebody, and honesty is the best answer you can give when you just don’t know. We all hate potholes in the road, and trash on the street, and fence rails around the park that are broken and lying on the ground. There is always something that needs fixing, and sometimes the only thing you can do is be patient and grunt “bump, bump!”
