pull the family together

pull the family together

fiction
Edward w Pritchard


Third generation cell phones and artificial intelligence in computers and machines has leveled the playing field between children and adults within the family unit while the role of strength in the father or maternal instinct in the Mother has been lessened by civilization and easily accessible community knowledge.

Author visits two of his favorite themes here: children are not larval adults but unique individuals with remarkable abilities and instinct tops reason supplying a natural order to the world.

Pull the family together:

Mother and father were fighting about an insurance policy and the family home was in turmoil. The brother was in his room cocooned in his headphones escaping into his music and the baby girl was taking care of herself in the yard.

When the Mother rolled the insurance policy up like a club and thumped it against the walls of the living room continuing the running argument with the husband the boy to escape the noise went to the back yard to find his sister.

The girl was sitting near a pile of stones at the rear of the yard that the Father had bought some time ago to pave a path back to the gate running to a walking path near the fence. The girl was
industriously piling stones into groups. As she worked she hummed a little. The brother joined her in the work.

Fifteen minutes later the Father walked in to the yard followed by his wife to check on the Children. The wife had unrolled the insurance policy and was reading section heading 11 as she walked.

Hours later the four family members sat in a circle sorting and chipping stones, As they worked they hummed the song originally composed by the girl. The little family continued at their work till the mosquitoes drove them back into their Home.