The Prince and the Tree House
By: Bill Steinberg
Every child should have two things in their life, a dog, and a tree house. My kids were extremely fortunate and had both. I don't remember where we got Prince, we just had him. He was a sweet, gentle, medium sized Sheppard looking dog. He was very protective of his family; where his kids were, he was there.
We bought a house in Ysleta, Texas. It's 20 or so miles east of El Paso. The house was small and the lot was large; we had room for several things. The large tree in the back was perfect for a tree house, so the boys and I built one. It was a dream come true for me and heaven for the kids. It was a sanctuary for them. A place to get away from adults and all the problems they create. A situation arose when Prince discovered he wasn't with them and he threw a fit. Fortunately, the shape of the tree was such that allowed us to build a set of crude steps that Prince could climb. Everyone was happy until Prince refused to descend. We had to clumsily carry him down and realized that was not going to work. Gary suggested a sling and a pulley, brilliant! He was just a kid! It took a while for us to gather the parts, but we got at them and built it. Now to get Prince to allow himself to be attached to the sling and lowered. He had a lot of faith in his people and instinctively knew we would not hurt him. He accepted the sling and although he was a little "squiggly" at first, he actually seemed to enjoy the short trip once he got used to it. He was an exceptional dog. When he wanted to go down, he'd just scratch the floor by the sling. The tree house belonged to the "the Prince", he just allowed us to use it once in a while.
The other parts of the lot were used for purposes not quite so popular. The chicken coop needed to be cleaned daily and eggs gathered. The garden needed to be planted and weeded. Our group has been taught to work from an early age so we didn't hear much grumbling. Everyone was expected to pitch in.
Mary, my wife, was working for an optometrist and I was teaching. I had a class designated as "trainable" boys. I always hated that terminology. To me they were just kids that needed more specialized teaching techniques. I tried to give them that.
Mid semester a special student was given to my care by the name of Armando Aguilar. "Mando" had not attended much school due to various reasons. His folks were past their prime when he was born and that was supposedly the cause of his condition. He was hydrocephalic, also referred to as Gargoylism. I hated that term and would not allow it to be used in my presence.
Once you met Mando you were not likely to forget him. He had a very large head, crooked deformed teeth and bulging eyes, his hands had large ingrown nails that often drained. You had to appreciate his total deformity to see just how his appearance affected those he met. His father had just passed away and the state was insisting he go school. I could tell immediately that Mando and I were going to get along. He just had that look about him. I felt we would eventually be more than just teacher and student. The first test involved his lunch money. He would come up and drop it on my desk. Once day I called him back and said, "Mando, that ain't gonna cut it, if you want to eat you have to put it in my hand." I said it with a smile, but he knew I meant it. He came back and put it gently in the palm of my hand. Before he could pull away I reached up and tenderly squeezed his fingers. I saw tears form in his eyes and I think I had some too. They were tears of mutual respect. After that he seemed to enjoy school and was always there early.
After school was in full swing I got permission to take Mando home with me for the weekend. I warned my tribe of his appearance, but they all agreed that nothing I did would surprise them. He was a bit apprehensive, but he came with me. In spite of my warning, Mary and the kids were a bit put off by his looks but once they got him up in the tree house he was one of the group. Prince took to him right away as he knew Mando was different and needed protection and friendship. Mando thought it was hilarious to watch Prince climb the latter and be let down in the sling. Mando seemed to have a good time that weekend and I asked him not to discuss it with the other students so as not to create jealousy among them, he didn't. His mother sent word that he could go any time we asked him. She said she'd never seen him so happy. All my kids wanted to know was, "When's Mando coming back?" He had a huge affect on my bunch, and they learned to look past appearances and find the real person underneath. They also learned to appreciate how truly fortunate they were. I then had to ask, "Wait a minute, who's the teacher here?"
Bill Lynen was our neighbor across the street. We helped each other with tools and labor as needed. I borrowed his garden tractor when I needed to till our garden. I had an idea and I asked Mando if he wanted to help. Always anxious to be of assistance, he readily agreed. I told Bill I'd pay for any damage to his equipment and showed Mando how to operate the tractor and what I wanted done. Then I turned him loose. I made my crew go inside and wouldn't even let them peek through the curtains. He needed to know we trusted him. I could feel Bill across the street grinding his teeth and biting his nails as Mando maneuvered that tractor up and down our garden. When we finished, he turned off the tractor and call me over. He had done a superb job; my garden had never looked so good. Bill Lynen called and said "Hey guy, when you send the tractor back send that kid with it, my garden needs some work." He was kidding, of course, but Mando appreciated the compliment. Everyone congratulated him on a job well done. That really puffed him up. Being trusted and congratulated were new experiences for him, I'm glad he had them.
Mando continued to visit until his mother became gravely ill. He felt his first allegiance was to her. He had to help at home. Eventually he stopped coming, we told him he was welcome any time, but he never came back. I just hope we did as much for him as he did for us.
Prince and his tree house were not through capturing hearts however. My Dad had recently retired from the railroad in Galveston and was a gambler at heart. There was a dog racing track just across the river in Zaragosa, Mexico. He'd come to play the dogs and sleep in the tree house. Since he was a "special guest," Prince felt he deserved protection and slept up there with him. The "old man" loved it. He was able to sit up there and enjoy his Roi-tan cigars while not worrying about offending anyone with their terrible smell. I did not allow smoking in my house. The bright side of that coin was that we were never bothered by flying insects.
Everyone should have a tree house and a good dog sometimes in their life. I still think about Prince, his tree house, Mando, and the "old man" that wouldn't sleep any place else.
