At a recent visit to a local kindergarten, I found myself answering the kids’ usual mundane questions. Ok, I know they are young, but there are only so many times you can feign interest in such banal inquiries as, “Do you like apples?†or, “What colour do you like?â€
But unexpectedly I was knocked out of my stupor by one student’s rather unusual question. With a look as serious as any 5-year-old can muster, the little boy said, “Why do you have blue eyes?†Now due to the children’s age and the language barrier, I refrained from going into a lengthy discussion about genetics, and instead told my young audience that my mother also has blue eyes. This information produced a few understanding nods from the obviously enthralled crowd, but I gleefully shattered their comfortable little bubble by adding that on the other hand my father and sister have brown eyes.
This revelation produced a lot of puzzled looks around the classroom, and none more so than on the face of the little fella who asked the question in the first place. Giving him a big smile, I asked him if my answer was ok. But I guess it wasn’t, as he looked away in disgust and said to his friend, “What a weird family.â€
A damning judgment indeed!