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Along Life’s Way
The Boy Who
Liked to Count: A Fable
© 2018 Lois E. Wilson
As a baby, his first words were “one” and “two.” Soon he was counting
his tiny fingers and toes. Through the years he counted birthday
candles. He wanted to help distribute Christmas gifts which he counted
to ensure that no one was slighted.
In kindergarten he counted his classmates to compare the number of
girls to the number of boys. He counted the coins in his allowance. In
first grade he was thrilled when he could count to 100 and later 1000.
Looking out his bedroom window, he could count stars. To go to sleep,
he counted sheep.
His parents became concerned about their son’s counting obsession and
took him to be evaluated by a behavior specialist. He was tested. The
doctor explained that the counting the boy was doing was probably a
phase. “At this point, consider it his passion and encourage it.
Numbers can’t hurt him.”
The parents enrolled their son in a dancing class and for piano lessons
since he had shown an interest in playing that instrument. In music
environments, he prospered. He counted out the rhythms and expressed
the tempos through his hands and feet.
In high school, he played sports and rejoiced when the score added up
to a victory. He enjoyed animals and volunteered at a nature center. He
worked at a pet store selling parakeets, snakes, puppies, etc. He also
had a part-time job with a veterinarian. At all sites, there were many
things to do which fed his counting passion.
He decided to major in wildlife management at the university. One
summer he worked on a research project along the shores of Lake Erie.
Since red-winged blackbirds were so destructive to crops, their numbers
in the region were being assessed. He had to trap, band and count the
birds.
With his first college degree accomplished, he thought another field of
study might be more rewarding to him in life. He chose to give up
budgies, blackbirds, and beagles to pursue budgets, bills, and
balances. With his Masters Degree, he would be an accountant.
After becoming a CPA, he worked at an accounting firm and for
manufacturing companies. He later managed college and city budgets. At
his retirement when asked what he disliked most about accounting, he
replied, “I never like a high number on the line labeled ‘amount owed’
or at the end of my golf score tally.”
Moral: Never count anyone out who has a passion. And, more important,
never forget to count your blessings. Muhammad Ali once said:”Don’t
count the days. Make the days count.”
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