Poems and Thoughts    by Frank Maurer

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One Ear and the Other. There once was a little boy in Switzerland, near Zurich. If it had been three generations ago, that could have been me; But it wasn't. But it could have been. Anyway, he was an active child, With only one major flaw; he didn't listen; Didn't listen to parents, for instance, When instructing this or that-- You know, the day's agenda, or duties, like 'clean up your room'. The boy had minor ear problems; Like too much earwax, which had little to do with not listening; Or maybe it did. No one really made any connection. At any rate, the problem got acute enough That he and his mother had an appointment with the ear doctor. After some looking and probing, The doctor said, "We will flush the ear for excess wax." He gave the boy a bowl to hold under his bad ear To catch the flushing water with the wax. The boy began holding the bowl just under his ear. Suddenly, without warning, he switched the bowl from one ear to the other, As the doctor was mumbling further instructions. The doctor asked, a little annoyed, "Why did you do that?" The child answered, a little surprised, "Well, you were instructing me to do things, And mother told me to pay attention all the time." She always says, "With you, 'Everything goes in one ear and out the other,' " "I was trying to pay attention to you and to catch anything you might say. I didn't want it to go in one ear and out the other--and be lost!" (As told to me by Marianne, from Switzerland.) Frank Maurer 11 November 2025 0230 Hours.