To be Careful with Eggs and Words

　　"People ask what you want to be when you grow up. I know what kind of grown-up I want to be. But I don't know who I am now." Albert stretches his legs out. "There are always people ready to tell you who you are, like a nerd or a jerk or a wimp."

　　I think how it's hard not to believe the bad stuff.

　　"Look at it this way," Albert says. "If you had to be in a tank of water with a killer whale of a stonefish, which would you choose?"

　　"Well, duh Who is going to choose a killer whale?"

　　"Well, in the wild, killer whales never attack people. Like never. A stonefish is way more dangerous with its thirteen venomous spines. It's the words. If the killer whale were called the friendly whale, no one would be scared."

　　And I think of words. The power they have. How they can be waved around like a wand - sometimes for good, like how Mr. Daniels uses them. How he makes kids like me and Oliver feel better about ourselves. And how words can be used for bad. To hurt.

　　My grandpa used to say to be careful with eggs and words, because neither can be fixed. The older I get, the more I realize how smart my grandpa was.

Fish in a Tree, P183-184
Lynda Mullaly Hunt
ISBN 978-0-399-16259-6