Once in a while as a parent — okay, as a dad — your kids do something that really makes you puff out your chest and brim with sin — I mean pride. (Pride is still a sin, isn’t it, even if you are of Irish lineage?)
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A couple of Sundays ago Clan Rush watched an evening newscast. Before the news even started, the station teased the lead story with something like this: ‘Mayor says Detroit Zoo will have to close. Pink slips to be mailed out Monday.?
I shook my head. Jennie put her head in her hands and eight-year-old son Shamus got emotional. Five-year-old Sean, still oblivious to the world that revolves around him, had a bad gas attack and laughed. No, this column isn’t centered, like the universe, around Sean. My sinful ways were not based on Sean’s status as a very large Stinkasauras — but I digress.
It was before dinner and after the completed TV news segment, the emotional Shamus went to his bedroom. ‘Why would they want to close the zoo?? he said over and over.
God bless Shamus? mother. Jennie comforted her eldest son with words of wisdom only mothers can impart. Dad’s say stuff like, ‘Get over it kid. It’s a hard world out there, get used to it, and if you don’t stop crying and get out of bed, your brother’s gonna? eat your dinner.?
As the male parental unit I don’t know what was uttered in Shamus? room. It was all kind of ‘hush-hush? and secretive. I do know this much, when Shamus came out his eyes were still red-rimmed, but the boy had a plan.
He called his third grade teacher, Ms. Kelly Alford, at home and asked if he could speak to class about the impending zoo closure. It was okay and Shamus got to work.
He and his mother made up a flyer. I worked with him on organizing his thoughts. We made note cards with The Problem, The Solution and Shamus? Plan spelled out.
So passionate he was, he didn’t even use his note cards. He spoke from his heart and won over his class. With the help of Ms. Alford they e-mailed all the other teachers in the school, enlisting their help in a letter writing campaign. They drew up posters and after lunch, while other students were at recess, Shamus and a couple of his chums plastered the hallways with their posters — the message clear, Help Save The Detroit Zoo, Write a Letter!
Within a week over 100 students wrote their thoughts, in letter form, to Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Some drew pictures and some added hearts. Jennie, Shamus and Sean hand delivered them to city hall earlier this week. And, well, what can I say. I am proud of them and of Shamus.
He saw something wrong, sucked it up and worked to make that something right. (I am smiling as I type). Our boy Shamus is a leader, not a follower. Jennie sure has done well by our boys.
Lest I bore you with more gooey father’s pride stuff, here are some of the thoughts for the Mayor.
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‘Please keep the zoo open or I’ll cry, PLEASE!!?
— Alix G.
‘Please don’t close the zoo because if you do when they tear it down they can put a factory up and it can cause a lot of pollution.? — Philip Parker
‘It would cost a lot of money to make it into a new business. You would have to kill all the animals. That is the only reason that people go to Detroit is to see the zoo. You will destroy their habitat and they will have to hunt for their own food and they might get caught and then get shot and that will not be good.
–Kyle Viers
‘Dear Mayor, please don’t close the Detroit Zoo. Everybody in this school loves the zoo.? — Madison
‘Hearts will be broken if the zoo closes.?
— Miss Kelsey Neuman
? . . . Me and my brother and sister loved it, so please keep the Detroit Zoo open!!! Our school will raise money if we have to. Love, Jennifer A.?
‘I am a real animal lover and I will be devastated if it closes. — Morgan
‘I strongly disagree on closing the zoo. That is my favorite zoo and it has been around for as long as I have.?
— Jack W.
‘Dear Mayor, why are you closing the zoo? When the children love it and it has so many memories, we love to go to the zoo. We also love all the animals there that you can only see in the wild. PS: oh, and thanks for ruining the 3rd graders? field trip. Your friend, Taylor.?
And this from Ree — ‘Yo Mayor, I really like your name and I would really like it if you didn’t destroy the zoo!?
Comments for Mr. Rush, or for Shamus or for Kwame, can be e-mailed to: dontrushmedon@charter.net