in the summer time i can’t see the houses behind ours because the woods that separate us are too thick but while gardening over the weekend i heard something in those woods and met the voice of a wise man from two doors down.

he said many things during our short visit but the most noteworthy was how he solved the age old problem of children fighting for a particular toy or seat at the table. his advice was that each child be ruler for a month and during that month they could trump their sibling and get the chair, toy or whatever happened to be in dispute.

the wise voice from the trees said they never had to worry about who was in who’s seat or who was playing with something first and at least in this one skirmish the parents had prevailed.