No Hands or Feet

The perceptions of a child

“Grandpa, what does that sign mean?” Erin asked.

Her grandfather looked up at the yellow sign with two stick figures on it.

“Erin, it means you should be careful because there may be children up ahead playing and crossing the street. Yellow signs always mean be careful.”

She stopped and gazed up at the sign, pulling her hand from her grandfather’s.

“But, Grandpa, why don’t those people have any hands or feet on that sign?”

He glanced up at what she was referring to. Sure enough, neither of the sign figures had hands or feet.

“Did they lose them?” she asked.

“No, Sweetie. It’s just hard to make a hand or foot that’s square. See those legs? Nobody has square legs, so they just left off the feet. Those aren’t real people on that sign. We call them stick figures. They’re just there to prove a point. And that point is that cars need to be careful up ahead because people might be nearby. We see these signs a lot around schools where children play. It helps people slow down.”

“When I grow up, can I be a stick figure like them?”

“No, Honey. You can never be a stick figure. You’re much more valuable than that. Stick figures aren’t real. They’re like you drawing and coloring a person. Are the people you draw real?”

“Hmm. No, they’re just how I draw them.”

“Exactly. Same with those on the sign.”

“But maybe I can be one of the people who draw them. They should have hands and feet.”

“Yes, they should,” Grandpa said. “And when you grow up, you can learn how to give these sign people feet and hands.”

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