That Unusual Boy

         This story is about a boy named Tad, who was quite the unusual lad. From the time he was two, his parents certainly knew-----Well, they knew that there was something special about their son.

         Tad was like most boys his age, in many ways. There was just that one teeny-tiny-little-itty-bitty thing...

         Tad used his hands like they were feet, and used his feet like they were hands. Hands like feet, and feet like hands you say? Yes, that is what I said.

         Tad walked around all day long on his hands, with his feet dangling over his head. "It's easy", he used to say. "You just over balance a little, and fall into each step". That, is precisely what he did.

         The teachers made him sit at his desk like everyone else, but Tad was a clever lad. He learned he could sit on one leg, and stretch the other one around to write his work. His cursive "foot" writing was best in his class.

Tad could do everything a person could do with their hands, using his feet. Buttons and zippers were no match for his nimble toes. His "special" skills brought just the right angle for beating the bass drum in band. The only time he ever had trouble was eating spaghetti. And, that's because his toes got tired from twirling his fork so much.

         Tad preferred to sleep with his feet raised up on his pillow. When his parents asked him why, he simply said: "Monsters always try to grab your feet. But, if they reached up and found your teeth, they would go running back to their homes, afraid of the things that might lurk on top of the bed". Seems perfectly logical to me.

         Tad was always careful. He wore galoshes on his hands in the rain, and put boots on them in the snow. Upon his feet, which were quite neat, he wore nothing at all. Except of course when it was chilly, and then only toe socks would do. How else could he carry an umbrella in the rain?

         Everyone in town got used to Tad being around. Most people didn't really pick on, or make fun of him.

         Once, a little girl asked him why he was so "weird".
"I'm not", he replied. "I'm just the same now as I always was". Then, he continued on his stroll.

         His parents just smiled and told the little girl "Our son is who he is, and that's just fine. We love him just the same now as we always did".

         Tad turned around and said "Besides, if every single person was exactly the same, in every single way, the world would be full of a million copies of the exact same guy". Tad scrunched up his face. "Now THAT would be WEIRD".