Many years ago, a friend shared with me a story about a woman who owned a pet macaw. The bird had a rasping cough. Naturally, the master was concerned about it, so she took her prized companion to a vet. After a thorough examination, the pet doctor couldn’t find anything wrong with the bird. Finally, he figured out what the problem was: the woman was a heavy smoker and had a rasping cough. The pet macaw was imitating its owner.
I thought of this when I heard about my four-year-old grandson, Lukas, taking a yellow ball and rubbing it against his lower back on the wall. “What are you doing,” his mother asked. “I’m doing like Pops.”
I do this to ease muscle tension caused by long drives that impact my sciatic nerve; Lukas does it because he sees me doing it.
When I’m frustrated, I often say the word “dadgummit” to express my feelings. My wife, Judy, warned me, “You’d better be careful. Lukas will be saying that before long.” I decided she was right, so I changed my expletive to “Gumdaddit!” Sure enough, a few days later, Lukas’ mother overheard him saying, “Gumdaddit it!”
Whenever I’m around, Lukas will follow me closely. I call him “Shadow” because he trails me everywhere–like a shadow. Good or bad, evidence shows he is picking up a lot from my example.
The rapper Snoop Dog is still around and continues to influence mainstream culture. A few years ago, a national magazine asked him who he favored when he coached his son’s peewee football games. Was it Bill Parcells (the Dallas Cowboys’ coach at the time) or Vince Lombardi? Snoop answered, “I’m more like Tom Landry, cool, calm, and collected. And I have the brim on at every game.”
Snoop Dog had never met Tom Landry. Ah, the power of example–even from a distance.
Remember, somebody might very well be watching you.
Mark
Dr. Mark Edge
The WorkEdge Company
Telephone: 903-245-7851
Email: workedgetexas@gmail.com
Website: www.workedgetexas.com
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