Like Father, Like Son ...

For some people, casual dress means removing their necktie and opening the top button of their shirt. Syl is not that kind of guy. For him, casual dress means T-shirt and shorts with sandals or loafers. He would just as soon go barefooted but that is not always acceptable.

Shortly after his thirteenth birthday, Syl casually sauntered down to City Hall to apply for a marriage license. Ms. Mullen, the clerk at the desk, intimidated him but he was ready to take his chances. This license was very important to him.

Ms. Mullen watched cautiously as he walked around the lobby pretending to read the posters and occasionally glancing at her. As the minutes slipped by, she became suspicious and watched carefully as he hesitated before marching up to her desk. "Can I help you?" she offered in a soft voice.

In an awkward manner he replied, "Yes! Thank you! I'd like to apply for a marriage license." Ms. Mullen's blue eyes brightened as she peered over the rim of her round glasses and quietly surveyed his young face. "A marriage license, eh?"

Her curiosity got the better of her and she decided to find out his motive. "Here is an application. Please do not hesitate to ask, if you have questions." Syl nervously answered some questions on the form and returned it to her for processing.

He waited hopefully and noticed that for some inexplicable reason she was looking at the entrance instead of issuing the license. It was almost as if she was expecting someone. Syl waited patiently for a few minutes before asking, "Are you expecting someone?"

He was caught off guard when she responded with, "Where is the information on the other person?" In a matter-of-fact tone he replied, "There is no other person."

"Hmm, no other person! Then, why on God's green earth do you need a marriage license?" "Well, I'm going to a concert on Saturday and I want to have a marriage license just in case I meet someone who wants to get married."

That was the first time Syl had to be kicked out of City Hall but that was only after he hurled a few abusive words at the now tense Ms. Mullen. He did not plan to use those words. In fact, he was startled when he heard himself using them. To date, he is the only person ever to be kicked out of City Hall.

Syl insists that he is very easy to get along with. "It is the rest of the world that has become a little difficult," he offered quietly.

In Syl's defense, that behavior did not represent the norm for him and he learned a lot from that experience. Since then, he has not used one abusive word in a public place. He has however, used them sparingly in the presence of his very best friends and in the privacy of his own home.

He could easily be credited with bring a quick learner. Only a few weeks after he got his driving license he told his mother that he already knew what to do when he hears a siren. It did not mean to speed up and get out of the way of the fire truck as he had done the first time he used the family car.

He also learned that a police cruiser with lights blinking and siren wailing does not mean that they are shooting a movie. He said confidently, "If the cruiser is not going past you, you should pull aside and park but only when it is safe to do so."

"Syl, I would like to ..."
"Dad, it is Sly not Syl. All my friends call me Sly."
"Well Syl, I'm not your friend and there is no way that SLY could be short for SYLvester. I think your friends call you Sly because they just can't spell your name."

"OK dad! I'm ready to be Syl. What were you going to say to me?"
"I was going to say that I would like to have a little talk with you."
"Is this one of those father and son talks or is it a man to man talk?
"It is neither of those; this is one where I talk and you listen."

"OK dad. Shoot!"
"You know that it is OK to make a few mistakes as long as you learn from them, don't you?"
"Been there, done that dad."
"What do you mean Syl?"
"I think I've already made every mistake out there -- at least once!"
"And! What did you learn?"
"The only thing I learned is that I should never make the same mistake twice."
"Good man! Like father, like son."