Keith, Willowbee, and the Mouse

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 Keith, Willowbee, and the Mouse


When my son Keith was age 4, he and I were over at his friend Willowbee’s house. Willowbee, also age 4, had spotted a mouse in the house earlier that day. I told the boys to get together a box, a stick, a long string, and a small piece of cheese. When all items were gathered, we made the mousetrap. I tied the string to the stick, and the boys used the stick to prop up the box. Under the box they placed the cheese, a fairly stinky variety. The trap set, we took the other end of the string with us as we hid behind a large, overstuffed chair. It wasn’t long before the mouse appeared, sniffing around the box, looking for the cheese. When he went under the box, we pulled the string, and the box came down. What do you think? Did we catch him? If we did, what did we do with him?


Keith went on to build many other things, from boats to houses. Anything one can build, he can do it, with beauty that lasts. And still does to this day. Not to mention, he’s a sailor, set a world’s record for speed of small boat building (a little less than 2 and a ½ hours), and is a great Dad to his two boys, Kai and Connor.

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