SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 – When I was a kid, I was inspired by “great people” whose reputations had withstood the test of time. As I dreamed about my future, I wanted to strive for “greatness” in the way that George Washington or Abraham Lincoln had achieved that status.
Yet, I sensed that “greatness” transcended the American presidency. I wasn’t sure what the magic element was, but I wanted to achieve some form of recognized “greatness.”
On an otherwise unremarkable summer day before first grade I grappled with this notion of “greatness” from a new and improbable perspective. The “Eureka!” moment occurred while I was sitting in the shade of an enormous burr oak tree in my family’s yard.
Shortly beforehand I’d returned from my daily candy run to Matheny’s corner store (See 7/28-30/22 posts). Bored with my usual choices, I’d decided to branch out to a non-candy item, which on that day was a small package bearing a target on the outside and unidentifiable contents on the inside. It was sheer curiosity that compelled me to lay down 10 cents of hard-earned allowance for the package.
I’d gotten over my shyness to ask Mr. Matheny what it was I was purchasing, but when he replied, I was too embarrassed to ask what a “pea-shooter” was. I could feel my face turn red when I thought it was a device for shooting your pee. This struck me as wholly unfathomable and inappropriate, but I feared that further inquiry would so embarrass both Mr. Matheny and me, I’d never again be able to set foot in his store. My only alternative was to put the package back on the rack, and that prospect seemed just as embarrassing.
I didn’t open the package until I’d parked my bike in the driveway back home and sat down in the shade of the oak tree. In short order, I realized I’d purchased a pea-shooter, not a pee-shooter. I didn’t understand, however, that for maximum effect, I’d have to put the shriveled peas in my mouth. That seemed gross, so I loaded the ammo at the “muzzle” end of the straw—with very lame results.
I soon tired of the intended use of the pea-shooter and took a closer look at the straw. It was different from the ones that my mother had on hand for chocolate milk. The pea-shooter straw was extra sturdy, and the blue stripes that twisted around the straw seemed to have some element of functionality, though what that might be eluded my imagination.
In the moment, I wondered to what alternative use the hefty straw could be applied. I first thought of a pencil holder, then tried unsuccessfully to come up with some other possibility. None surfaced, except . . . I realized that “greatness” might not require me to be president. Perhaps I could achieve “greatness” by designing or inventing something really worth while or simply by coming up with an idea.
A lifetime later, I laugh at my childish notions of “greatness.” I now know, of course, that “greatness” is best defined as human beings being good and kind toward one another. It’s an idea, anyway.
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© 2022 by Eric Nilsson
