I often look at the world and say there are two types of people. It’s really amazing how many times you can really do this well. There are two types of people….
those who like to get the mail, and those who don’t care
those who like to open gifts, and those who’d rather watch
those who like to read, and those who want to watch tv
those who spend and those who save
and my newest, via Franklin, those who like to have doors open and those who don’t. Because I’m a very small minded, self centered person, it never occurred to me that there existed in this world, people who wanted to keep their door shut. But, apparently there are. Franklin is a door shut kind of person. Right now, he’s rooming with my nephew Lanny, who is a door open kind of person (apparently a Walker family trait.0 It never occurred to me that except in anger, or sex, door shut was really an option. I don’t like the door shut, really, i prefer to know what’s happening. And really, I think shut doors bother me a bit. What are you hiding, that you have to have a shut door. Or, if you’re not hiding something, you must be trying to keep me out. I don’t even like to keep my classroom door shut when I teach. I only shut it if hallway noise gets to be too disruptive. And this even when demon spawn, my supervisor at 11th Street made the shut door mandate. i risked it all to keep the door open.
so anyway, Franklin is a closed door kind of person. He keeps his bedroom door closed. And is pretty grumpy if anyone enters into his domain. You’d think that anyone who grew up in a third world country, where in many cases doors and windows are optional that he wouldn’t be so closed doorish – shoot, my brother in law, Eliseo, has a really nice house and the only doors in his house were bathroom and doors that were made of iron for the front door. But apparently my perception of Franklin’s El Salvador experience is skewed, because his door is closed (byth literally and figuratively, but that’s a whole other blog). So, Franklin is a door closed kind of guy, and that closed doorish personality transcends all concepts of personal security when he’s in the bathroom. He latches the door and locks the door (via doorknob). And this leads us to the Walker family tradition of showing the love.
Last year, when my brother came to visit, he took great pleasure in dousing Elijah with cold water in the bathtub. Elijah was really mad, but I just told him that is how Jason shows you that he loves you. Elijah, upon learning this new custom, has really enjoyed showing his love to others throughout the year. It has, in deed, been his great joy. Imagine our delight when we discovered yesterday that Franklin had left the door tot eh bathroom only partially locked – latched, but not locked. And I reminded Elijah that he hadn’t had the chance to show Franklin how much he loved him. Now, Elijah, never one for grand gestures, was just going to show Franklin a small cereal bowl full of love. But really, what kind of gesture is that. It’s no gesture, I say. So, I got the blender pitcher and and filled it up with some 40 ounces of pure love. And let Elijah enjoy his moment of brotherly bonding.
Imagine my surprise when a few moments later, I heard a loud crash in the hallway. Franklin had snatched the blender pitcher from Elijah, and then throwing it with enough force that it shattered the bottom portion, after first bouncing off Elijah’s back. And then i realized that there were two t ypes of people…
people who think it’s funny, though not always pleasant, to splash or get splashed with cold water..// and Franklin who is at the to take much of the joy out of almost anything…I really have seen such a dramatic display since I was in my teenage years. Who knew really, that boys could be such drama queens. And my response, is really, to find every opportunity to show him the love for years to come. Because if there is anyone who needs a little good old fashined demonstrations of affection disguised as water, it is definitely Franklin.
