the rude falls not far from the tree

a few days ago, jackson and ava and i were down at the river. the temperature was a little too cold for ava to get in so she and i were sitting on the sidewalk watching jackson as he jumped and swam. i brought a small basketball to throw to him as he jumped into the water.

the whole while, there were two other boys -they looked and acted like brothers- swimming near us. eventually the older boy left for a little while and the younger boy approached jackson looking for someone with whom to play. jackson had just jumped in the water and was holding onto the wall. the boy was standing up on the sidewalk and asked jackson if he liked to dive. true to his father's precedent, jackson acted as if he hadn't heard the question and did not reply. the boy asked again," do you know how to dive?"

jackson looked the other way, released his grip on the sidewalk and slowly floated down the river without any noticeable response to the query.

while i was disappointed in jackson's rudeness to this little boy who was just looking for a friend; i knew exactly where he was coming from and it brought a smile to my face.

it would appear that he is in for a lifetime of anti-social behavior modeled after my own and that saddens me a bit. sometimes it can be chore to avoid and ignore others with the required amount of steadfastness.

converseley, i still can't find it in my realm of patience to be bothered by others. and i'm nearly 40...what chance does he have at 8?