What I learned from a second grader

Pretty deadly

On a flight back from a sisters visit in the Chicago area, I sat next to a charming second grade boy. Despite the fact the battery on his game tablet needed recharging, he sat quietly with his thoughts, a fidget spinner, and looked out the window throughout three hours of a four hour flight. Isaiah—yes, that was his name with brothers Elijah and Ezekiel—was getting a bit restless, and I engaged him in conversation to discover his fascination with carnivorous plants. He had a Pitcher Plant and a Venus Flytrap, both familiar. The Venus flytrap died he reported, because he and his dad stuck their fingers in it too many times.   He went on to describe his Sundews, which I had never heard of nor knew how to spell. He said they have sticky drops, which attract insects and entrap them. Then their petals fold to digest their prey. Online I Iearned that insects may provide nutrients lacking in the soil in which these beautiful plants grow.

I was totally charmed and heartened. Maybe this young boy, who was content imagining,  will grow to be a man who figures out a way for this planet to survive climate change.