Why do birds fly?  Why is there air?  Why is the sky blue?  Why is water wet?  These are all important questions.  It was 1993, and my son was five years old.  I was thirty-two and fielding questions all inquisitive five-year-olds ask.  When I was five I asked my dad why New Mexico was named New Mexico?  It wasn’t new and it wasn’t Mexico.  I’d seen pictures in a magazine, and I was interested.

“Dad, how far away is the sun?”

I knew this.  It was an easy one, right?  “About ninety-three million miles, Mike.  Why?”

“How far is Dallas?”

“About a hundred and ten miles, son.”

“So, how come I can see the sun, but I can’t see Dallas?  It’s closer, right?”

“Yes, Mike,” I answered.

He looked at me like my cat does when he looks in his food bowl, ‘There was food here a minute ago, where did it go?’

Life is weird like that.  Things that are seemingly far away are sometimes closer than you realize.  Don’t give up on them, they’re still there.  We live in a blue, green world, full of life, full of hope.  I can see it.  It’s just on the other side of the fence.

ABOUT THE  WRITER.  John Green has been a frequent contributor to WITS, and he is also author of Life Between The Bars, a unique and heartwarming memoir described by Terry LeClerc, “This book is so good because each chapter is short, has a point, doesn’t whine. It’s an excellent book.”  

John can be contacted at:
John Green #671771
Jester III Unit
3 Jester Road
Richmond, Texas 77406