And I listened

I had to be four or five when I first heard the golden rule  “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  These words uttered by my mother when my sister and I accidentally tied my brother to a tree (mainly my sister). My mother’s use of the rule, I believe, was to appropriately socialize the two of us. Yet, even at that tender age, I knew we couldn’t just stand by when he, my brother, scared, teased, and, generally, irritated us most of the time. WE were the victims as my older sister tried to explain. But, later, Grandmother McKenney disagreed. And I listened.