The Snitch

John stated that his first skill was crying and I have had time to reflect on that. I think he developed one before that. John was an unusual baby in that he knew right from wrong early on, I mean early on. He could not talk and already knew what was right and what was wrong. He closely observed the behaviors of other members of the family, quickly determined what the rules were, and became a judge on the full observance of the rules. When he saw something that was being done contrary to the rules, he would say the only syllables that he knew "Ah da da" When saying this he would point to the person violating the rules. The girls were always pulling something on one another, this sibling rivalry was fierce. When a violation did happen there was John, barely able to walk, pointing his finger at the miscreant and saying "Ah da da." Papa would take notice and the strap would come out. Monica reported to me that she hated to hear that phrase and hated him for saying it. You see, she got her share of strapings. Of course, if you do not want to get a strap do not do the crime. But it was far more important to try to stick it to the sibling, the possibility of getting caught was merely a hazard for the play. This skill John developed was "snitching." As good as he was at knowing right from wrong he never got the message: "Thou shall not snitch on ones sisters." In this sense, he was a little tyrant and, in a way, influenced family interactions. All without being able to talk.