Level Two. What do you think?
Level Two. What do you think?
By Michelle Lloyd.
Little Herbert’s grandpa had been the centre of speculation at school and it meant that a lot of discussion had been had about him. Ideas and even statements had been made about Little Herbert’s grandad that were totally unfounded, there was no evidence but one belief, and that one suggestion had led to a lot of conviction.
It did not seem too important at first. Chat had started to circulate about Little Herbert’s grandpa having moved in with them. New One, having been a firm and faithful ally of Little Herbert, knew about this development but as it was right he did not feel that there was any harm in the talk about it.
Slowly though, the facts about the temporary move in had led to class members suggesting the supposed reason for it. Suggestions about the move had ended in certain individuals merging their ideas with their own experiences of hearing about similar situations. The chat started to become more frenzied and as one theory became the accepted one, it took hold and even Little Herbert’s own explanation as for his family’s own temporary house guest was no longer believed.
The whispered conversations in class had led to shifty glances and aloof attitudes. All these were sent in Little Herbert’s direction, though the reason for it, he had not a clue. New One had been watching all this with dismay and while he did not want to hurt his friend’s feelings, he felt that someone should make him aware of what was being talked about.
Little Herbert’s grandad who actually had gone to stay with his family while his house was being repaired had ended up, thanks to unfounded speculation, as having been involved in all sorts of unfounded and alleged terrible scenarios, all of which had landed him in the care of his nearest and dearest.
Having heard about what was being discussed and believed, far from being upset Little Herbert felt moved to do something about it. It had not been that long since another speculation had ended up in a classmate’s bad experience of what a little bit of rash gossip can do. Slowly others in the class had felt that they knew about his issue more than he did and nobody felt obliged to listen to the facts.
Little Herbert felt that maybe everybody needed reminding of why speculation could be wrong. In an an arranged meet up, grandpa himself made an appearance at school and in Little Herbert’s class stood took pride of place next to their teacher. It was from there that he spoke to the class from the heart and far from chide them for the gossip that had got out of control, enlightened about his own experience of a wayward word or two.
In his younger days grandpa had been happily ensconced in a friendly group and quick to listen to whatever each said about the other, he would repeat and firmly believed everything that was perpetuated. Usually this arrangement was fine, up until one time when one misunderstanding had nearly split the friendly group up completely. It had all led to a lot of anguish and torment, one presumption had made each of them think badly and based on that incorrect idea, fall outs quickly ensued. If it had not been for a helpful reminder about the reality of the situation, all sorts of terrible consequences could have been and it made grandpa even more certain that being sure of the facts at first was far better that learning about it properly later down the line.