The Hierarchy of Boyhood
Editor’s Note: For the month of January, I’m sharing weekly creative pieces. They’ll culminate to an announcement about my creative journey that I’ll be sharing next week! Any guesses on what it might be?
Background
As a writer, I’ve come to appreciate the power of observation — to notice the world around me. But I forget about it sometimes, caught up in the humdrum of daily life. Do you ever experience this? Where you have an epiphany, proceed to slowly forget about it, only to remember it again later on?
Well, this piece is a product of one of those “remembering again” moments for me.
As children, observing every detail comes to us naturally. There is much to be curious about as there is much to learn about. But once we build the muscle memory that carries us through our days, that curiosity fades and we begin to lose sight of how big things happen in life’s small moments.
The Hierarchy of Boyhood
Two little boys run onto the elevator just as the doors close behind them. They're eight and six and out of breath. Both hunch over, hands on knees, desperately trying to regain composure. One is taller than the other. The tall one proclaims he was only running at 30% of his full speed. The short one mocks the deliberate precision of his comment.
"I know you're faster than me" says Short One. "I just..."
Tall One cuts him off, boasting "I'm way faster than you. I'm the fastest one in the family."
There is a long pause in their banter before Short One retorts.
"Yeah. You are." Another pause. "And I'm the 2nd fastest," he declares. In one fell swoop, he plays to Tall One's tall ego while also establishing his own place in the candid hierarchy of boyhood, where speed is the ultimate test of virtue and the fastest sprinter its arbiter.
The door opens on the 17th floor. They walk off, still panting.
The shiny steel doors close and toss my smile back to me. With each passing floor, I'm transported to my childhood, my brother, our races, and summer as the elevator carries me all the way up.
Lifted by the lift,
Shiv
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