He watched the elderly man walk across
the lawn with his three grandchildren in
tow. The little girl walked next to the 

man followed by her younger brother and 
older brother. Then the little brother 
wanted to be next to his grandfather so 

he rushed up and walked between his sister 
and his grandfather. The grandfather gently 
placed his hand on the little boy’s head, 

tousled the boy’s hair and the four walked 
on, the older boy dragging behind as if 
bored with the whole ordeal. Watching this 

scene, the observer wondered how the grand-
father could be so cruel and uncaring toward 
so many others. Then again, maybe the grand-

father is just caring for himself reflected 
in the grandchildren. Still, he thought, it 
was a touching scene. Then he thought about 

his own cruelty and his feelings toward his 
grandchildren and then he heard the echo
reverberating in his head and heart, 

"for all have...fallen short...."