GMOs or Genetically Modified Organisms.
For today’s episode I’ve decided to leave the “Old Time Stories” and concentrate on the latest addition to my family, who must surely be included in this Covey by way of his genes. After all, we are all GMO so he has to have a few Cockney genes.
Especially when you consider the work of Gregor Mendel; not to bore you
with his principles of inheritance but to bring it down to its lowest
common denominator it seems that a gene can skip a generation then appear later
with all its bells and whistles intact. And those cockney genes all have lots
of bells and whistles attached.
Yes, I now have a great-grandson – what a hoot!
I’m sure he has arrived with all his own characteristics and he
will be loved for every one of them, but if we pay a little homage to Mendel,
it’s possible he will also have a few personality traits for which he can thank
his forebears. So, heeding the Boy
Scouts motto to “Be Prepared” I thought it might be useful to mention a few of
those traits that may or may not appear, and since none of us can recall with
accuracy what we were like as a child, it is left to me to mention a few of the
traits of his lineages: my offspring.
Well, progeny number one has to be my first born. He was the delight of my life; strong, healthy
and full of vigor. He bellowed for his food and insisted on being the centre of
everyone’s attention. He was as smart as could be and soon learned to do all
manner of physical activities. I’m sure he was only two or three years old when
his father had him out on ice skates! He
was inquisitive and willing to attempt anything. So, it was a sad day when he came home from
kindergarten crying.
It seems that the
class was learning to skip (you know the kind without a rope, just kind of
hopping along) and it was the one thing that beat him – no matter how hard he
tried: he couldn’t skip.
I don’t know if he can skip today (I’ve never asked him) but it
might be a gene worth looking out for!
Progeny number two was daughter number one. She was a very special, special child for
many reasons. Not the least of which were her linguistic skills. I can remember, when she was a toddler, walking
around the grocery store with her sitting in the buggy-cart-seat as she was
merrily chatting away with me. Nothing
unusual about that you may say! True.
Except that she was using long three syllable words and complicated sentences. Personally, I didn’t notice it – but other
shoppers did, they would stop and remark on it.
It was a bit like the nurses who a couple of years later would
think it cute that this little child who still sucked a soother, had brought an
analog watch with her to the hospital
– that was until they realised she used
it to tell the time.
Oh yes, she also had a pack of playing cards so that she could
play solitaire! My guess is that no one would turn down a few
of those “smart genes”.
The third entrant into this gene pool is daughter number
two. The calmest most happy baby anyone
could wish for.
Any mother who gets a baby with these genes has won the
lottery. These genes come with a bit of
a warning though. At the age of two
years, those calm-laid-back-nothing-bothers-me genes suddenly burst out of the
starting gate like a whirling dervish on steroids.
Nothing, I mean nothing, is going to hold this
child back. Run away from home at the
age of three, hitch a ride on a bus – no problem! Listen to me, do as she was told – not a chance. However, things weren’t all strife and
trouble, there were some absolutely delightful moments, especially when her
logical genes came to the fore. I
remember the time when I was bathing her and I asked her big brother to “bring
up the towels” from downstairs.
She adamantly refused to be dried on towels that she reasoned
had been regurgitated! Obviously, who
could blame her!
There was another time when she had a very nasty cold that
this logical thinking came roaring out.
When told to avoid giving these germs to anyone else she
immediately went against all instructions.
Her attempts at cuddling up to and kissing anyone who would allow her
near were clearly obvious. Those logical
genes had rightly of wrongly figured out that if she had a toy then gave
it away, she would no longer have it. Certainly, it was worth a try with this
cold she did not want.
To be honest it was a tremendous relief when she was old enough
for kindergarten, so perhaps I can be forgiven for my answer to her teacher’s
inquiry: “Give me one word to describe your daughter”. My reply was “stubborn”, it should have been
“determined” a trait that has stood her well throughout her life. So, for a logical,
determined go-getter, these genes are prime.
Therefore, the future for my latest descendant looks pretty marvelous as far as the gene pool is concerned. Welcome to the tribe.
