Secret Guy Stuff

Perception is like magic

"Grandpa, why is that bird chasing the other bird?"

"Maybe he stole the birds nut? I dunno."

Paul shuffled down the path scattered in early Fall clutter. The sun poked rays through the forest canopy, still strong enough to fight back any  shadow that might be a bother to a five year old holding the hand of his Grandpa.

"Grandpa, why is that tree a different color?"

"Well, what would the world be if all the trees were the same color?"

John frowned and looked down, but quickly looked back up at Paul. "I know! It would be green!" He punctuated it with a smile.

The old man laughed and lifted his fedora to scratch what was once a crown of brown hair. 

"You got me there young man. You know you're pretty smart!"  He stopped and the young boy stopped to look up into his face, squinting at the ray of Sun in front of them.

Grandpa leaned down and put his face even with John's. "You know you have to be careful with knowledge. Did I ever tell you the story of Maury?"

'Who's Maury?"

"Maury was your Grandpa's best friend. Maury never said very much but he was good to have around." Paul glanced to his right. "Here, let's go sit for a bit and I'll tell you Maury's story."

"But I want to go see the ducks Grandpa!"

"The ducks will be there when we get there. That's their job okay? We go see them, they be there when we get there."

The older man led the boy over toward the table. On the way, his small shoelace undone, John tripped over a branch hitting his knees and landing on his arms, elbow to palm. He didn't do anything at first, obvious surprise spread on his small face, then the mouth turned into a circle and the whimpering began.

Paul picked up the young boy, and dusted off the knees of his Oshkosh jeans. "Now, it's not that bad, your Mom is gonna be pissed at me for letting you get your nice outfit all dirty, but hey it's the woods!"  His weak attempt at humor was lost on the little guy.

"My hands hurt Grandpa!" The ends of his yellow, red, and blue pullover were soiled and there were scratches on his palms. 

"Well, I suppose they do. That's what happens when you fall you know? You land on your hands, and your hands hurt for awhile." 

Paul reached the bench and sat down; the boy in his lap. "You know what big boys do when they get hurt?"

John shook his head, holding his hands out in front of him like they were offending robots, his little mouth bravely trying to remain stiff.  

Paul leaned in close and looked both ways, he whispered "They rub dirt on it."

John twisted his head to the side to look at Paul, his face pinched in disbelief "What? Grandpa you making that up?"

"NO! Have I ever lied to you?"

"You told me to pull your finger so you could fart."

"Well, that was in fun, that wasn't a lie it was a funny. This is different." He leaned down,

"But you can't tell any girls, not even your Mom. This is Secret Guy Stuff!"

'Okay." John smiled, feeling better.  He got down and grabbed some dirt, rubbing it in his hands. When he was done, he stood up and squeezed his hands together. Then he pulled them apart and dusted them off. 

"Wow, that works Grandpa!"

"You see? Secret Guy Stuff I'm telling ya. It works!"

"But I can't tell any girls."

"No, no girls. They don't believe in the great power of dirt. At least most of them don't. Some do, but mostly you ... well. You'll figure that stuff out for yourself when you get older."

"Can we go see the ducks now?"

"But I was going to tell you about Maury."

"I want to see the ducks."

Paul looked at his watch, then looked at the Sun.

'Okay, we'll do it your way. I'll tell you about Maury later."  

He got up took the young boy's hand. The two continued their stroll to the duck pond.

"You know any more Secret Guy Stuff Grandpa?"

'Well, yes a lot but most of it I can't tell you until you're older."

"Okay, Grandpa why do squirrels move so jerky?"

'They're nervous on account of they think we might try to chase them and eat them."

'Yuck!"

"I know, huh?" 

They disappeared over a small hill.

Author's Note

Please forgive me for listing this as a poem, but there is no choice for 'Flash'. It's short and I hope you will take time to read! Thank you

Reviews

[Baby Ricochet]

Secret guy stuff. All the stuff boys need to know their mothers can't tell them. God help you if you dare to point that out in our PC world/ The PC liberals will be crawling all over your a*s.

[Mark]

F**k em if they can't take a joke! Thanks foe stopping by

[icelandicblue]

I want to know about Maury too! I loved conversation throughout the poem. I like the sweetness of this story. It feels very real.

[KAOlmsted]

I want to know about Maury!

Nice bit of FF, Mark. I like the title and, don't worry, I know I'm a girl but your secret is safe with me ;-)

[Mark]

Maury's story isn't fully formed. Hopefully I'll get to it soon

[Mockingbird]

i really enjoyed this moment between grandfather and grandson. the grandfather has much wisdom to impart to his grandson in time. it was genius how paul got john to forget his pain and pick himself right up again. very nice piece.

[Mark]

Thank you so much. I had a few of these rolling around in my noggin but this is the only one to work its way out so far.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

this was a fun read...yes, grandpa will tell us things...i wish i had a grandpa who would have done this..i only had one, on my mom's side, and he was a complete jerk...

we all stayed away from him, he wanted nothing to do with his grandkids.

but i really like your story.

[Mark]

Sorry to hear that Jacob. I had one who was a drunk and o e who took me fishing lol

[Angi]

Soap and water! Soap and water! There is a reason we girls aren't privy to the guy stuff, huh? Nice little journey you took us on, Mark. Angi~

[Mark]

Heehee definitely. Thnks Angi

[Robbie~xoxo~]

awwww This is soooo Cute!!
I love when children are so wide-eyed and innocently absorbing everything the world has to offer... So many questions can baffle adults... it's hilarious to find the words to explain all the wonderings of life! This is entertaining, endearing, and just pure joy to read.

Lovely write!~xoxo~:)

[Jack...]

This was great Mark. A nice little story of life and how it is seen through two sets of eyes, one young and one old. It was really touching. Thank you so much for sharing this but please use caution when leaking Secret Guy Stuff on this site, there are some things these ladies just don't need to know.

[s y e]

Hahaha, I loved the title! :-P It had me intrigued, and this was a great short story. You've explained a lot!