The Man Who Built His House Upon a Rock CH 7 pt 1

Ch. 7

A Precious Stone

Back

Women often complain that men are childish and competitive. What they don’t recognize is the method to the madness. When males preen and pose, brag and lie, fight and then become friends, what they are really doing is trying to “sort out” their place in the group. Who is the Alpha Male? The biggest, strongest or most forceful personality steps to the fore and rules until a challenger dethrones him. Men just don’t know what to do unless someone is leading the pack and everyone else follows. The mockettes are wrong though in believing that this is childish or restricted to males. Ladies perform the same social dance, continually asking themselves “Who is the ‘Queen Bee’?” and “Do I belong in this hive?”

One girl who never belonged to any hive was Virginia Shelton. She was an intellectual prodigy and earned a high school diploma by the age of nine. Her parents kept her in school, taking community college courses on the side for eight more long years. She earned all the associate degrees available from every college within driving distance. Mr. and Mrs. Shelton weren’t pushing the education so much as giving her time to develop better social skills. You see, Virginia had the aggravating habit of interrupting and talking over her parents when she felt they were wrong. This happened many many times a day. Her maturation was somewhat hampered by the unfortunate fact that she was usually correct.

Blessed with a keen and inquisitive mind, Ginni (the name her cousins used) loved to be involved with any project, so long as it was primarily dealing with adults. Soon she was a volunteer at shelters, food banks, church and political groups. Some joked that she would get the keys to the mayor’s office before those of her first car. That was fine with her because other kids just did not make any sense at all.

By 14 Ginni was ready to spread her wings and fly. Something her parents were only grudgingly prepared to allowed.

“Mother,” she had stopped calling them Mommy and Daddy at three. “I just do not understand why you and father are being so over-protective. I am almost an adult. I have degrees in sociology, behavioral science, communications, psychology and criminal justice. Yet you guys won’t let me ten feet out of your sight!”

“Now don’t exaggerate dear.” Her mother said in complete seriousness. “You won’t get your Criminal Justice certificate until you turn in the final and take your firearms course.”

Stamping her foot she burst out, “Mother, you know what I mean. I understand people better than…”

She had been about to say, “Better than you and Father” but she didn’t think that would earn her any brownie points. After the briefest pause she spluttered, “Well better than most people do.”

“Honey, I’m not saying you don’t understand the theory…”

“Mother! How can I possibly get any real world experience if you don’t let me out into the real world?”

From the moment of Virginia’s first word, ‘hamster’ at six months, Hannah Shelton knew that she and her husband Theophilus were in for a rough time. Their daughter grew normally in body, but her mind took leaps for which they were not prepared.

By her first birthday Virginia, who still could not walk, would crawl around the living room until she found the newspaper. Upside down or not, she could tell them all the letters and many of the words. For her second birthday she helped her brother Justin with his math homework (he had trouble with fractions). The day she entered Kindergarten was momentous. She took the 7^th grade equivalency test and scored 93%. She would have done better but there was a difference of opinion concerning the effects of immigration on 19^th century American labor markets. She favored a laissez faire approach while the test authors were ardent Keynesians.

The school only allowed her to skip two non-consecutive grades, and she had to attend classes and take the tests. She celebrated moving on from the 6^th grade by passing the High School exit exam and receiving both degrees at the same ceremony.

Child psychologists were frequent visitors to the Shelton home during these early years. More than one hoped to make his name by analyzing this miraculous girl and publishing an insightful paper explaining her coping mechanisms in dealing with the awareness of her own unique gifts. Their interest died away soon after she released a dissertation which at once demolished their theories and chided the entire profession for utilizing too narrow a focus on child geniuses. She had a much broader outlook on life than any other 8-year-old and she knew it.

Only at High School did her parents draw a line in the sand and insist that she slow down a bit. Virginia could have taught most of the classes and did a thriving tutoring business on the side so learning wasn’t a concern. Mom and Dad were primarily worried that their precious little girl had no real friends. As with most parents, they doted on their offspring and could not understand why other kids shunned her. Virginia on the other hand had long before decided that if being popular meant pretending to be dumber than any boy in the room; being concerned only with how she looked; and slavishly following the latest fad; then she would have nothing to do with it or them thank you very much. Puberty, however, would have its say.

She first noticed boys about the age of eleven. This was particularly difficult for her because, being in the eighth grade, the male students were two years older than she and not at all interested in the “freaky little girl” who beat them in all academic challenges. If possible, the girls were even more horrible. None of her classmates offered friendship or understanding. They laughed at her as she passed through the awkward changes into young womanhood. She felt completely alone and all the books in the world didn’t help her feel the slightest bit better.

One spring morning, uber-popular Jake Swartz did the last thing anyone at William Byrd Middle School could have expected. He spent the week being nice to Virgina. He carried her books, opened doors, and even sat next to her at lunch. Amy Willingham was none too pleased with that particular arrangement as she felt Jake was something close to her personal property.

As Ginni began to loosen-up a little he took it a step further. Walking across the quad he reached down and took her hand. The audible gasps from one end of campus to the other roared like a tornado. When she smiled up at him he knew the time had come.

“Ginni, my dad is letting me have a party at the lake on Saturday. Would you like to come? We’re gonna swim, have a bar-b-cue, he might even let us use his jet skis if we promise to be careful. What’d’ya say?”

“I-I would love to”, she stuttered. Never before had she been invited to a party.

As Saturday approached Jake became, if possible, even kinder to Ginni. He included her in conversations and told other kids off for making fun. For that glorious week she was in bliss.

The big day dawned bright and hot. Western Virginia was sweating through an unusually early summer with temperatures reaching 80 well before noon. It was perfect for a day at the lake. Ginni dressed excitedly and giggled all through breakfast. Her parents not only noticed the change in their normally serious daughter but were practically alarmed.

“Virginia, we want you to have a good time today but don’t read too much into this. He is just a boy remember.”

“Father, I plan on having fun, not getting married. Honestly!”

But the more primitive part of Virginia’s brain, the emotional part, was wholly engrossed in thoughts of the first boy to ever treat her special and how she might get him to kiss her.

Hannah dropped off her daughter at the lake and agreed to come back around 9pm. There was a knot in the pit of her stomach as she surveyed the dozens of kids surrounding four large jet skis and a speed boat. Not one of these kids had ever come over to play or invited Ginni to their home. No girlfriends to chat with. No boys to dream about. Part of her was thrilled at the idea that her special girl might finally be fitting in. But the mother grizzly inside remembered how cruel children can be.

“Oh please let her have fun today.” She cried nervously all the way home.

The sun was warm and the water cool. Virginia had a great time splashing in the lake with her new friends, skipping stones, and listening to all the gossip she had missed out on for years. The girls were so very sweet and kind. Amy escorted her all afternoon and made sure that Ginni got to meet everyone.