It was the driver’s bad luck

That the truck got stuck

As he drove beneath the overpass.

Slightly wedged, he hit the gas,

And jammed the truck in tight.

So they called far and wide for experts who were bright,

Engineers with brilliant minds,

A solution they would surely find.

An expert said: “We can use some floor-to-ceiling jacks

“To raise the overpass.”

But with each lift of a jack

The arch that held the bridge cracked.

“We can cut off the top of the truck with a saw,”

Was another idea with a serious flaw.

Two geniuses discussed breaking apart the road above.

“It will loosen the arch just enough.”

People gathered on the bridge and looked down.

“Oh my, what will they do?” they fretted and frowned.

But a young boy nearby licking a sucker

Said: “I know how to help the troubled trucker.

“Why don’t you deflate the tires on the truck?

“I’ll wager that the truck will drop and become unstuck.”

For all those brains that had traveled for miles,

None saw the problem through the eyes of a child.

And so dear readers, remember the lesson

Taught so long ago by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

That it doesn’t matter who you meet

When you are walking down the street.

That person can teach you a thing or two

Even if the person is old or a youth.

The End

David Madrid

Contact: David Madrid

“In my walks, every man I meet is my superior in some way, … in that I learn from him.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Philosopher, Poet, Essayist

May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882