Stages

I watch intently as the newborn waves its arms and

kicks its legs, squints and widens the eyes with smirk

and grimace of face. What he or she knows and needs

is expressed in coos and cries—the pre-verbal

stage, experts say, having no words connecting to that

which is seen and felt is explained. It was sheer cruelty

some will say, having to leave the security of the womb

in the first place. And now the long arduous journey of

learning begins: 1-2-3s, A-B-Cs, Mama, Papa and good

lord knows, so much more. If only we realized back then,

and had a choice in the matter, more than likely many

of us would have surely turned around to flee in full

retreat. But then, I can only speak for myself now that I

have grown to know what it takes—baby steps, burps,

slobbers, poop, pee, tumbles, groans and grumbles along

the way. Had you and I, and everyone else who has lived

through all the phases required to get us from the inno-

cence of infancy to the grown-up confusion of adulthood

today, coochie coochie coo…Isn’t he (or she) a little cutie?

would not have been provocative enough to entice us into

taking our first step. And so, it is probably best, as I see it,

having forgotten the pre-verbal stage of our lives where

word association and comprehension didn’t make a lot of

sense to us. Why even today, it’s not clear to me what in

hell coochie coochie coo means anyway?

Chris Hanch 11-2-19