Grand Magazine - July/August 2008 - (Page 34)

tips on teens All that doesn’t meet the eye By SuSan D. BranDenBurg Loyalty requires sacrifices i My eyes darted back and forth between Drew and his friends. Something was very wrong. ’m reaLLy prouD of my grandson, Drew. The first thing he did when he turned 14 was apply for a job at a Publix supermarket. After several months of blowing his pay on CDs and junk food, he made the decision to have $35.35 out of each paycheck automatically placed in a savings account. And when the United Way campaigners made their impassioned pitch, Drew pledged an additional $20 a paycheck to United Way. Do the math. Even with two raises in the past year, he earns barely above the minimum wage, working a maximum of 8 to 12 hours a week. When I attempted to explain to him that few full-time employees anywhere pledge $20 a paycheck to charity, he insisted it was his choice and it was what he wanted to do. He then made it clear that he would now be responsible for getting himself to work after school— no more rides from me. Drew’s bus drops him off at 3:45—plenty of time to walk home, put on his Publix uniform, jump on his bike and be at work by 4:30 p.m. One afternoon, however, he showed up at 4:15 accompanied by his friends Zack and Shadow. “You’re late!” I yelled. “Your uniform is upstairs. I’ll drive you to work!” As Drew dashed upstairs, Zack and Shadow walked across the living room slowly and sat down next to each other on the couch. They looked solemn and stared straight at me like zombies in a “B” horror movie. Sporting a multicolored Mohawk haircut, Shadow wore solid black clothing and a lot of metal. Zack was also dressed head to toe in black, with his dyed jet-black hair framing a preternaturally pale face. His heavy black eyeliner matched his black lacquered fingernails. “Why are you here?” I asked them. No answer. “Don’t you know Drew has to go to work now?” No answer. About that time Drew crashed down the stairs, yanking his Publix apron over his head, and headed for the front door. “Let’s go! I’m late!” My eyes darted back and forth between Drew and his two friends on the couch. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Then it dawned on me. Drew had no eyebrows. My big, beautiful boy—my responsible grandson, the philanthropist—had no eyebrows. His face was…bald. “We went over to Heather’s house when we got off the bus, and she did it as a joke,” he said, hanging his head and peeping out from under…no eyebrows. “She told me to close my eyes, and she pretended she was putting on eyebrow pencil, but instead, she shaved them off.” Pretty Heather, who lived in the neighborhood and had gone to school with the boys since second grade? Heather had done this, while Drew’s friends looked on? “I cried when I looked in the mirror,” said Drew. He looked over quickly at Zack and Shadow. Zack and Shadow were sitting like statues. Shadow’s mouth quivered. “So, we shaved our eyebrows off, too,” he said. I looked again. It was true. Zack and Shadow did look even stranger than usual. It took nearly a month for Drew to grow new eyebrows. But then, it had taken me nearly a lifetime to learn the lesson: Never again will I judge teenagers simply on their appearance. Eyebrows, after all, are expendable. Good friends are not. G 34 GRAND JULY AUGUST 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Grand Magazine - July/August 2008

Grand Magazine - July/August 2008
Contents
Grand View: Love Is All That's Left
Isn't It Grand?: Reassessing the Postponed Life
Grand Central
Just So We Know: One Mixed-Up Lemon
Long-Distance Love: Cuttings
Ask Grand: Stuck on Stuff
Grand Gestures: "Thanks for the Ugly Gift"
Tips on Teens: All That Doesn't Meet the Eye
Live Long and Propser
On the Cover: Peter Yarrow
Presents of Mine
Thicker Than Water?
Reunions: White Water, White Knuckles
The Grand Gourmet
So We Are Not Alone
Looking Grand: Suit-Able
Grandbloggers: Why Watch TV When We Can Talk?
Grand Bazaar
Resources
Grand Finale: What Boat

Grand Magazine - July/August 2008