Naomi is 3-and-a-half years old. She is a precious child, pretty, witha fine name. Biblical.

Her mother and father are Stacy and Jeff. Pam and Kemp are Jeff’s parents.

Pam is my Sally’s first cousin.

That’s all just familial background. This little tale is about Naomi’s perceptiveness. Her right-on logical thinking.

You see, one day, not so long ago, she had ridden with her father to Lowe’s.

In another city a good ways from here. They were on a mission to buy their Christmas tree.

Jeff was slowly driving in the parking lot, searching for a good spot for the truck. As he was looking, Naomi pointed out a really good one near the store.

“You can park there, Daddy.”

Then she spied another space. “There’s one there too, daddy.”

Her father told her that they couldn’t use those parking places.

“Why not, Daddy?”

He told her that they were reserved for handicapped people.

“What’s a handicapped person, Daddy?”

Jeff explained. He told her that meant people who had some physical problem that caused them not to be able to walk very far. He gave a couple of such examples, listing several possible infirmities. A wise father, patiently explaining something to his child. He had to feel good about this.

Naomi took his explanation in, mulled over it, then asked,  “Why are they driving?”

Why, indeed?

Little Naomi Rae Huss went right to the heart of the matter.  As she ages, she’ll probably find that many people with handicaps are better drivers and more safety conscious than some who don’t qualify as handicapped.

We know that’s so, don’t we?

But that’s another story.

APROPOS — “Children are remarkable for their intelligence and ardor, for their curiosity.” — Aldous  Huxley