Retaking Delight

A Childhood Key to Meaningful Living

When I was in first grade, I was looking at the pictures in a kids' magazine and, with great awe, saw a photo of a red fox. It was standing on all fours in the snow, orange eyes reflecting the sunlight, looking majestic and keen and beautiful. It was nothing all that special, just an animal, quiet, shy, with hidden energy and spunk. I thought to myself, "I like this fox. I want to write about foxes."

So I stapled some printer paper together and started my treatise on all things foxy, coming up with groundbreaking discoveries in the process. Foxes are red. Foxes can be gray. No, you cannot have a fox for a pet. No, foxes cannot be purple, silly! I toted it to church and to basketball games, proud beyond...