Write Field: It's All Downhill From Here

    I wanted so bad to talk about the fiscal cliff this month.  I know you all want to hear more about the brilliant maneuvering that saved us all.  But I just couldn’t find words that were descriptive enough and yet ones that Don, my editor, would let me print.  Instead, let me share a family story where my two-year-old grandson learns what it appears those in Congress have not.

We took our grandkids skiing,
   Their first time on the hill.
We felt family time together
   Would be a Christmas thrill.

They learned to put their boots on,
   To snap the bindings tight.
Lined up on that bunny hill
   They made a glorious sight.

We bought them all a lesson,
   Bad habits not to start.
The need to learn, to stop and turn
   Is science and part art.

The oldest five are up the hill,
   But Cooper’s only two.
Standing there between us,
   Wondering what to do.

His Momma tried to teach him
   With his fancy harness rig.
When coming down the bunny,
   How to zag and when to zig.

But he found it more efficient
   To lay back in the straps.
Let Momma carry all the weight
   As they made their laps.

So now it’s left to Grandpa
   To take him up the hill,
To try to teach him how to turn
   Without a big bad spill.

With Grandma on the other side,
   We made it to the top.
When he tried to lay back now,
   I let him fall down — plop!

He just lay there on his back,
   Staring at the sky,
With a look upon his face
   As if to wonder why.

No one else had carried him,
   Oh, sure this day was fun.
But wouldn’t it be easier
   If all the work was done?

It only took one more time
   Of falling on his back,
To focus him on standing up
   And cruising down the track.

He’s not ready yet for cliffs,
   But he’ll be hard to beat.
Because he’s learned one simple thing:
   Stand on your own two feet.