y about a

r potentiala numbersteps that

,t:

it must be

ring at anY

der should: should be

rrity on the

that would; ideas onlyrut a given

Words to Wateh

Growing Less DumbEileen Brenoff-

Frevicw

Even corny sayings often have a genn of truth in them. A plaque in a tourist shopgot the author thinking about the benefits of growing older-and possibly wiser.

Below ale some words in the reading that do not have strong context support.Each word is followed by the number of the paragraph in which it appears and itsmeaning there. These words are indicated in the article by a small circle (").

plaques (1): signs

obsess (7): think constantly [about something]perspective (10): viewpointspontaneous (1 1): unplannedinfuriates (16): makes extremely angry

ln the area of Indiana where I grew up,

shops cater to the tourists who come tosee the local Amish people, with their19th century lifestyle and horse-drawnbuggies. One popular local souvenirsold in those shops is kitchen plaques"printed with what are supposedly Amish

sayings-folksy things like "Kissing

don't last; cooking do," or "Throw thehorse over the fence some hay."

I was never tempted to buy one ofthose corny plaques. But l'll admit, oneof the sayings on them has come intomy mind recently. lt's not about cookingor kissing or farm life. lt's this: "We growtoo soon old and too late smart."

I think whoever came up with thatline was on to something. At 54, I don't

consider myself old (no wisecracksfrom you 18-year-olds in the back row,please), and there are plenty of times I

could be smarter. But if l'm not alwayssmart, at least I believe I'm becoming a

little less dumb as the years go on.

What am I less dumb about todaythan when I was younger? | think of a

number of things. For starters, I believethat I am less dumb about worrying; I

am less dumb about decisions; I am less

dumb about other people's opinions,and in general I am less dumb whenjudging other people.

First of all, let's talk about worrying.What were you worried about a weekago? How about two weeks ago? Canyou remember/ No/ Well, neither can

282 PART TWO Fifteen Selections for Readers and Writers

l, and that's my point. When I was

younger, I worried a lot. lwas really good

at it. I could take one minor worry-say, a tickle at the back of my throat-and spin it into a long, complicatedworry that could ruin an entire day.

"My throat feels scratchy. Maybe l'mgetting a cold. In fact, maybe it's not just

a cold. Maybe it's strep. Strep is really

nasty. And oh, shoot, l'm supposed togo to the movies with Keith on Saturday.

That's only three days away. Lemme

see . . . if it is strep, and I get antibioticstomorrow, will I still be contagious on

Saturday? But I still won't feel good andthe date will be a disaster and Keith

will never ask me out again and youKNOW who he'll ask out next, that cuteSuzanne from biology class, and . . . " By

the time I had worked that worry overthoroughly, my imagination had Keithand Suzanne married and living in a

half-million dollar house at the shorewith their 2.5 adorable children, while I

was friendless and miserable and livingin a cold rented room with a goldfish as

my only companion.Let me just point out that this was

a dumb way for me to spend my time.The fact is, l've slowly come to

realize, that the things I worry abouthardly ever happen. A few days afterl've worked myself into a lather oversome issue, the problem has generallyeither disappeared or been resolvedin some perfectly satisfactory way.All my worrying had absolutely noimpact, except to make me anxious anddepressed. So one way that I am nowless dumb is this: When I find myselfstarting to obsesso about a possible

problem-when those "What ifs?" start

running through my head-l have

learned to say a firm "STOP THAT!" tomyself. I remind myself that the thingsI was worried about last week or last

month have, in general, not actuallyhappened; and if they did happen, well,

then I dealt with them.The second thing I am less dumb

about now is making decisions. WhenI was younger, decisions scared me,

so I wanted the people around me todo the deciding. I am talking aboutthings as minor as choosing what toorder in a restaurant ("Are you goingto have the clam chowder? l'll get theclam chowder if you do") to as majoras deciding where to go to college {"Agirl in my home room's brother goes

to state U and he likes it, so maybel'll go there.") Never mind that I reallywanted the taco salad; never mind thatI didn't know a thing about State Uor the girl's brother. I felt safer havingsomeone else take the responsibility formy decision. The outcome? I ended updoing everything from eating food I

didn't enjoy to attending a college thatwas ill suited to my needs.

-.^ l

e Really, really dumb.'i0 Slowly l've learned that making my

own decisions is not only smarter, butit's very empowering. In order to makegood decisions, l've had to start givingmyself the same consideration that I

used to reserve for other people. l,velearned to respect my preferences andopinions and instincts, instead of hopingthat someone else might magicallyknow what's best for ra. Srr", wtren t

have an important decision to make, I

still consult the people close to me; butit's to get their perspective. on my ownthinking, not to ask them to tell me whatto do, For better or worse, the decisionis mine-l own it. And that,s a lot moresatisfying than my dumb old way.

11 In addition, I am less dumb aboutthis: I worry MUCH less than I used toabout what other people think. When I

reflect upon my younger self, especiallywhen I was in my teens and twenties, I

imagine myself moving through life ina rigid shell of self-consciousness. I waspetrified that I might draw attentionto myself by doing something weird.And to me, "something weird; meantsomething fun, creative, joyous,outrageous, spontaneous . . . you getthe idea. lf it was outside the tight littlemold of what ,'normal,, people weredoing, I didn't have the courage to do itanyway.lwas too afraid of what peoplewould think. Would they stare? Wouldthey laugh?

12 But you know something funny?When I think back to the people I

knew during those years, I have onlythe dimmest memories of the ones I

thought of as "normal.,,They all blend

together in my mind-the girls withthe stylish outfits and perfect hair; theboys with the varsity letters and priceycars. For the most part, I can,t evenremember their names. The people whoI do remember are the ones like Mike,who threw himself into every schoolplay with passion and great goodhumor;Caroline, who dyed her hair pinklong before it was fashionable; Serena,who would sing at the top of her lungsin the hallways, and Carl, who sat inthe courtyard at lunchtime playing hisbongo drums. I liked those people; I

admired them; lwish l,d had the courageto be more like them.

l'm glad to say l,m not that dumb 13

anymore, I can't remember the lasttime I hesitated to do or say somethingbecause I was worried, ,,What willpeople think?" I have taken to heart thewise words of former first lady EleanorRoosevelt, who said, ,,you wouldn,tworry so much about what others thinkof you if you realized how seldom theydo." Now, I sing in public; I speak upin meetings; I ask for extra napkins inrestaurants; I change my hair color ona whim. I talk to strangers, I play patty-cake with other people's babies, and I

pet strangers' dogs. In short, I have ablast. I wish l'd had as much fun whenl was .l5.

Finally, I am less dumb in my 14judgments of other people. When I wasyounger, I tended to think in very blackand white terms. people were good orthey were bad; an action was eitherright or it was wrong. To take an extremeexample, if I heard of a person accusedof abusing children, my response would

GROWING LESS DUMB

tI

II

n

t

284 PART TWO Fifteen Selections for Readers and Writers

be, "Just kill him-don't even bother

with a trial. Get rid of him like you woulo

a mad dog'" And the thought of anYone

hurting a child still makes me sick deep

in mv soul. But as the years have gone

bv, I have learned some sad truths' One

oi,h.t is that people who hurt children

were often themselves harmed in the

same awful waY' TheY were not bo.rn

monsters; at one point' they were the

innocent victims' So my attitude now ls

different. lthink, "Keep him away from

children, forever' But look at him as

another human being' lf he was terribly

wounded in life, trY to helP him'"

15 For another examPle' mY earlier

black-and-white thinking Tud." Tuassume that our political leaders in

Washington were doing what theY

should do, and that I didn't really need

to PaY verY much attention to their

actions. TheY knew more than I dld

about what needed to be done' right?

16 I think I'm less dumb about that

now, too. I pay a lot closer attention

to what our elected officials are doing'

Now mY attitude is, "HeY, I want mY

representatives to stand up for everyday

folks, for people who are just trying

to stav above water in todaY's hard

times.i I've come to harshly judge the

politicians who seem concerned mainly

about tax breaks for the wealthy and

the best interests of banks and big

corporations' I want to call them out

whbn they disregard the poor and the

middle class and everydaY People In

this country. lt infuriates" me when I

see them ignore the economic realities

*"ti "f u-, tiu. with and hear them

say, "lf you're not doing well in life' it's

because you're lazy and don't want to

*"tfa." I want to say to them' "HeY' You

probably started on third base' and you

want to condemn PeoPle who never

had a chance to get to first?" I want to

ask them, "How in your endless pursuit

of wealth did you let your heart grow

so hard?" I don't wish them ill' but I

definitely judge them as people who

, have lost their humanitY'

Yes, lllve changed with the Years'

and in general I'm happy about those

changes' I'm more tolerant in some

*uur, l"r, in others, and a lot more

ready to speak my mind and live my life

without apology' Let me just conclude

by saYing that, all in all, I am not the

dumb kid lwas once upon a time' But'

you know what theY say, at least in

indiana: We grow too soon old and too

late smart' Maybe you can grow smart at

a Younger age than I did'

:i :::=l::::-:.r::l:... : a:::.

GROWING LESS DUMB 285

2.

tndbigoutthelinrnlties

emit's:to/ou/ouver

:to;uit

me

)reliferde

:he,Ut,

in

oo

:at

First lmpressions

Freewrite

1.

for ten minutes on one of the following.

Did you enjoy reading this selection? Why or why not?

Brenoff describes herserf as a lot more ready to speak her mind than sheused to be' would you describe yourself as generally willing to speakyour mind? Or do you generally tend to keep quiet? Explain.3' Brenoff describes ways in which she has grown "less dumb,, over theyears' Are there ways in which you feel yor'u" grown ,.less

dumb,,?Explain.

Voeahulary Check

OW

rtlrho

irs, 17

)se

1. In the excerpt below, the term cater to meansA. annoy.e. explain.c. selve.o. defend.

trf the shops sell souvenirs rhat are popular with thetourists, they are serving the tourists.

"rn the area of Indiana where I grew up, shops cater to the tourists whocome to see the rocar Amish peopre, with their l gth-century rifestyre andhorse-drawn buggies. one popular local souvenir sold in those shops iskitchen plaques. . . .,, (paragraph 1)

2. In the excerpt below, the word petrifiedmeansa. extremely fearful.n. confident. A serf-conscious person would be extremelyc. hopeful. fearful of drawing attention to herselfn. excited. ..by

doing something weird.,,

"l imagine myself moving though life in a rigid shell of self-consciousness.I was petrified that I might draw attention to myserf by doing somethingweird."(paragraph 11)

_ 3. In the sentence below, the word whim means aa. carefully thought out action.s. sudden impulse. Singing in public and speaking up arc. suggestion by someone else. meetings are examplesbttnlnls in.l. formal agreement. might do on a sudden imlulse.

"Now' r sing in pubric; I speak up in meetings; I ask for extra napkins inrestaurants; I change my hair color on a whim.,,(paragraph 13)

286 PART TWO Fifteen Selections for Readers and Writers

Reading Check

Central Point and Main ldeas

1.

See paragraohs " nd

- Answer .lovers

only paragraPhsAnswer 9 coversonly paraeraPhAnswer = lovers o'ntY

paragrapns and

FaragraP- lustrateshow tsrenoff used tospend time worrYing'Paragraph aYS

she now considerssuch worrYing dumb.Answe i ? aeach covet only Partof the passage.

Supporting Details

5.

See paragraPh 14.

2.

Which sentence best expresses G central point of the selection?

e.Brenoffbelievesthatshe,likemostpeople,hasspenttoomuchtimewonYing.

e. As she's grown older, Brenoff has become more tolerant in some

ways, less tolerant in others' and a lot more ready to speak her mind'

". Atrt ough Brenoff was never tempted to buy a corny Amish plaque'

she believes that the Amish *"." iight about what's important in life.

o. Brenoff has become less dumb in several important ways and hopes

that her readers will become less dumb' too'

The main idea of paragraphs 5-6 is that

i, most people can't rlememuer what they worried about two weeks ago.

n. Brenoff now realizes that it was dumb of her to spend so much time

wonYing.c. Brenoff used to worry that she would become friendless and

miserable because of a disastrous date'

o. Brenoff now realizes that she was dumb to wolry about so much

about whether a cold would develop into strep'

4.

When Brenoff was young, she often worried about

e. being thought of as 1'corny." See paragraph 11'

n. doin! something o'weird'"

". "", tiaving

"nougtt money to fit in with the "normal" people'

D. not going to the right college'

one mistake that Brenoff made as a result of failing to take responsibility

for her decisions was

e.. going to the prom with someone she didn't really like'

u. itt"nAlng a college that didn't meet her needs'

c. marrying the brother of one of her friends'

n. voting flr a politician who supported the death penalty for child

abusers. See ParagraPh 8'

An example Brenoff gives of how she has become more tolerant is that she

A. no longe. wishes ill of people who endlessiy pursue wealth'

B. now tolerates public officials with whom she disagrees'

c. now thinks of child abusers as human beings' not monsters'

D. no longer condemns people who never had a chance to get to first'

l

:j.4j.

GROWING LE55 DUMB 287

tn?much time

rt in some

her mind.sh plaque,ant in life.and hopes

veeks ago.

nuch time

Cless and

so much

'agraph 1 1.

e.

onsibility

for childLragraph 8.

is that she

Inferenees

Argument

6.

7.

Inparagraph 12, Brenoff suggests thata. it takes courage to stand out from the crowd.s' Brenoff was unwilling to stand out from the crowd in school.c' "normal" people ca1

Fe boring. ,Answers A and B are s'ggested in then' all of the above. last sentence ofthe paragraph. Answer cis supported

m the first half of the parigraph.We can conclude from the selection thatA. today's young people are smarter than when Brenoff was young.e' Brenoff feels that as peopre grow older, they have fewer worries.c' Brenoff enjoys life more today than she did when she was a teenager.o. all of the above, See the flrst and last sentences of furug.;h f Z.

8. which evidence from theselection supports Brenoff,s statement that shehas more fun now than when stre was iSfR. For the most part, she can't remember the names of the ..nomar,,

people she knew in school.s' she pays more attention to what our elected officials are dorng.c' she sings in public, speaks out at meetings, and asks fbr extranapkins at restaurants.o' She harshly judges politicians who seem concerned mainly abouttax breaks for the wearthy and the best interests of banks and bigcorporations. The things tsrenoff does_sings, speaks ,p; ;k, for whatshe needs_.all suggest *ayiotfruuing iloie iun in nfe.

The Writert Craft

9' Brenoff beg-ins her story by teting of the Amish plaques she used to seein Indiana shops because

^. il:.*"*s that mosr people are very curious abour rhe Amish way of

e. she admires the Amish, with their lgth-century lifestyle and horse_drawn buggies.c' she uses a saying on an Amish praque to introduce the theme of heressay.o. she wishes she were still living in rural Indiana.

tsrenoff's entire essay is.based on the saying ..We grow too soonold and roo late smart..'anrr"i, a, il:;a D are unsupporred.

to first.

288 PART TWO Fifteen Selections for Readers and Writers

' 10.

pg1 lrygprrino leSS,

see 'r f ?for inclePenrr'' -^

.t""pafa$raPhr ioljudging wlss., - ee

paragraPhs aa 3

Answei: I z i \tafe not SulrPvrteo'

1.

WhichofthefollowingStatementsbestdescribesBrenoff'spurposemwriting this selection? r^ ^^^^^^1a^r.pc nf nq'e. To inform young people of the.inevitable consequences of aging'

s. To entertain readers with amusing stories of her youth in Indiana'

c. To inform ,.u0"" t'o* much American life has changed since she

was a girl.D. To gently persuade youngpeople to worry less' be more independent

in making decisions, und b""o-" wiser in passing judgment on

others.

Discussion Questions Le"'{";'* Or.ernrcrna)

Brenoff ends her essay by saying that-she hopes her readers.grow smart

at a younger age than 'tt"

diA' tn what ways have you' like Brenoff'

become "less dumb" than when you were younger? Do you think it's

possible to become "'mu't' at a young age? Why or why not?

Brenoff says she now realizes that "the things I worry "P-Tt^13.11tt

**happen." H". torrying *fu"A nothing.; it Lniy made her- anxious and

depressed. Do you ag; with Brenoff ihat wonying is a "dumb" way to

;;;;;;";'t time? oi is worrying sometimes justified? Explain'

2.

3.InBrenoff'sopinion,peoplewhocondemnothersfornotdoingwellinlife have

,,lost their humunity." Do you agree? Do you think that people

don't do well in htl becauseihey're lazy and don't want to work? Or are

there other reasons that some people don't succeed?

4. Brenoff thinks that whoever came up with the slogan "we grow too soon

oldandtoolatesmaft,,hadrealizedsomethingimportant.Arethereanyslogans o, ,ayings that you think are particularly meaningful-maybe

even meaningttf "n"tgtt

to live by? If so' explain what they are and why

they hold sPecial meaning for You'

FaragraPh Assignments

l.Intheselection,Brenoffstatesthatshe'scometotherealizationthatthethings she worries about hardly ever happen' Wlte about a'time in your

lifewhenyoo,.*o,,i"dyoursetfintoalather''aboutSomething,onlytohave the problem disappear or get resolved. In writing your paper' be

Suretodescribe*nuttt'"situationwasthatyoufoundyourselfworryingabout as well as how it got resolved'

AlternativelY, write a paragraph describing something you worried

aUout ttrat urtuily d'id'happen' and how you dealt with it'