In the Eyes of a Child

The following is an actual transcript of a voicemail left on my cell phone by our Godson’s mother, Tempal.

“Hey, Bob, it’s me. I just had something funny to tell you. I was getting Nickson dressed this morning and he said, ‘Mom, how can I make my legs black?’ And I said, what? What do you mean? Nickson said, ‘Like Greg? How do I make my legs black like his?’ I said, well you can’t. And he said, ‘Yes you can. Greg did.’ So I explained to him that Greg was born that way because that’s how his parents are. And that Nickson’s legs are white because that’s how his parents are, and that everyone is different but you can’t change the color of skin.”

I love the innocence of that exchange.

How wonderful would the world be if everyone looked at skin color as Nickson does? Imagine looking at skin color as no big deal. And imagine this tiny little knock-kneed, porcelain-skinned child thinking he could change his skin color as easily as he changes his tee shirt.

I wish we all had the innocence of a child. The world would be a much better place.

God bless you, Nickson. Don’t you ever change!