This is a story of two young boys. The first came from a stable, two parent family; the second from a home where the father had left for parts unknown. Boy Number 1 has an advantage, don’t you think? Well, let’s see.

Boy Number 1 takes a jackknife to school one day, the teacher sees him playing with it and confiscates it. The next day, Dad, who happens to be a police officer, comes storming into school and threatens criminal charges if the knife isn’t returned. The teacher meekly returns the knife.

Boy Number 2, who tends to be hyperactive, acts up a little too much on the school bus and the driver makes it known that he cannot ride the bus until he promises to stop being so disruptive. Mom could have cried discrimination because of her son’s ADHD, or she could have simply decided to drive him to school herself. She did neither; she told her son: “I guess this means you’re walking to school from now on.”

The next day she got him ready early enough to walk the two miles and get to school on time. She walked with him and walked home with him at the end of the school day. The next morning they walked to school again. Then she asked, “Do you want to walk home again this afternoon?” “No,” he replied, “I think I’ve learned my lesson.”

Some years have passed. At last report, Boy Number 1 is in prison. Boy Number 2 has learned a trade and is doing just fine..