Grades Aren’t Everything

A bit of a change.

This week’s newsletter is going to be a bit of a change from what you’re used to reading. This is something I’ve been toying with doing and this week I decided to go for it. Let’s cut straight to the scene…

The Story of the Marsh Boy

“Finally,” were the small words exhaled from his tired lungs as he walked through the front door of his house. Jeremiah Marsh hung his keys on the hook. It was a relief to be home from the market and a shower was on his mind. The smell of salt and fish hovered around him like mosquitos in the Congo. It was all worth it for his boy. Piled at the table, a lump of hair and hoodie that resembled his little man met Jeremiah as he kicked his boots off.

His son, Cole, was at the table with his head down and face buried in folded arms. Jeremiah sat down next to him and put a hand on his back.

“How you doin’, bud?”

No answer. Jeremiah let the silence hang in the air.

“Tough day?”

The boy shook his head.

Jeremiah let out a sharp exhale. “You can look at me,” he said.

Cole rolled his head to one side just enough for one eye to see past his elbow barrier.

“There you go. Tell me what’s bothering you.”

Cole let out a huff and leaned back in the chair. “It’s nothing! Everything’s fine, ok? Just let it go.”

“All right, all right,” he conceded and changed the subject. “How’s that paper going you’ve been working on?”

“GOD, dad! Mom knew how to take a freakin’ hint!” Cole got up, thrust the chair back beneath the table, and stomped into the hallway.

Jeremiah winced. That was salt in the wound. As he sat, he stared out the window wondering how life had brought what was left of his family to this point. The clouds rolled across a bright blue sky.

He willed himself to follow his son into the hall. The boy’s door was open a crack. Cole was splayed out onto his bed with his face buried in his pillow. The springs creaked as Jeremiah sat down on the bed next to him. Neither said anything.

Cole mumbled from deep within his pillow and turned his face away from Jeremiah. “I worked so hard on that paper and it’s not good enough. All the other guys get A’s on their papers and they barely even try. They just write down some garbage that doesn’t mean anything. I spend all weekend on it and only get a C. Then David and Eli throw it in my face and tell me what a loser I am. What’s the point of trying if I’m just going to fail?’

“The moping was about the paper?”

Jeremiah wanted to tell him a C wasn’t a failure. He wanted to tell him he tried his best and that’s all he could ask for. He wanted to tell him kids can be jerks and to not let them bother him. He wanted to punch that David kid in the mouth and shut him up. He closed his eyes and tried to calm the heat he could feel rising in his blood.

“You got a C with a lot of effort. Those boys got an A with no effort. Who do you think came out ahead? Who won the day?”

“David and Eli did,” replied Cole.

“No. You put in the work. You know what it’s like to struggle and strive. You persevered. They didn’t learn any of that. They didn’t gain anything other than a grade. You gained strength and experience.”

Cole sat up to look at his dad.

“Son, grades aren’t what makes a man in this world. It takes skill. It takes knowing how to keep going when it gets hard. What do you think would happen to those guys if someone dropped them on a boat out in the middle of ocean?”

“They’d probably know the all the names of each sail and each line but not know which one to pull with it right in front of them.”

“Knowing all the right answers isn’t the same as knowing what to do in a situation. They know the book. You know the boat.”

“I guess so.”

“Look at it this way. If we were out on the water and a storm came up, I’d rather have you there because you’ve been through a storm before. That’s more helpful than know the names of every sail and line and which sides are port and starboard.”

Cole sighed. His gaze was set beyond the window of his room out into the ocean. He let his shoulders fall. “I miss mom.”

Jeremiah followed the direction of his son’s eyes. He could see the monolithic rock spine beyond the bay. The water was choppy at the rock. It was always choppy. They had gone anyway. His curiosity had become too great and now his Lily was gone.

Jeremiah put his arm around his son’s shoulder and pulled him into his side. “So do I.”

To be continued…?

Did you like the shift to story this week? Drop a comment. Let me know what you thought of this post and if you’d like to read the next installment about the Marsh family.

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Click here to read chapter 2.

Talk to y’all in two weeks.

~ J.P. Simons