Reply #39: That's how my Mom did it, way back in the 1950s when I was growing up. [View All]

[MineralMan]

Completely unflappable, she'd turn anything into a brief lesson, usually in tolerance. One of my favorite memories of my Mom was the time, when I was about six years old, that I brought this 12" long alligator lizard into the kitchen. A member of the skink family, they're around California and generally bite and hang on when handled. This one had a firm hold on my finger and wasn't about to let go. I displayed this situation to my mother, who was in the middle of cooking dinner. Her response?

"That's a very interesting lizard, Richard. When it lets go, turn it loose in the back yard and wash up for dinner."

Then, she turned back to her task.

Nothing surprised her. Nothing rattled her. She simply found a simple way to deal with anything that happened. That attitude was catching.