Adolph

One of the most amazing students I have ever had was Adolph. This was years ago in 1979.

He always seemed happy and got along with everyone in spite of having a name that few have named their kid after the Second World War.

His foster parents asked if I could come out for a meal to discuss the best way to help Adolph progress in school. You see, he had problems in most subjects, particularly math.

If I asked him what 3 plus 4 was, he would just guess at the answer. To multiply 3 times 4 resulted in more guessing.

When I arrived at his home, I noticed a copy of The Hockey News on the coffee table. I instinctively picked it up and glanced at it while I waited for tea.

When Adolph’s foster mom came back into the living room, she said, “Go ahead. Ask Adolph any question from The Hockey News.

I started with a simple one. “Who is the leading scorer with the Edmonton Oilers?”

“Wayne Gretzky.”

“How many goals?” He knew. “How many assists?” He knew. “What’s the total?” He knew.

In that era, every kid knew about Wayne Gretzky. I decided to be a bit, no, a lot tougher.

“Who is the leading scorer with the Minnesota North Stars?

“Al MacAdam.” Adolph was right. He knew the goals, assists and total points, too.

“What kind of stick does he use?” Adolph was like a marksman picking off targets. He knew. “What kind of gloves does he use?” He knew, he knew, he knew everything I asked him. Somehow he could digest The Hockey News like kids attack pizza.

The next day in class, I thanked Adolph for inviting me into his home and gave him a note to send home with his foster mum.

In math class, I tried fruitlessly to work on addition and multiplication with him. Then I got a brilliant idea.

“How many points does Wayne Gretzky get in a game if he has three goals and four assists?” “Seven,” Adolph immediately shot back.

“And if he gets a hat trick (three goals in a game) for four games, how many goals does he get?” “Twelve,” replied Adolph, matter-of-factly.

It seemed as long as I put the math question in hockey terms, he knew the answer.

Maybe that’s the problem we face with communication. We express ourselves in our terms and expect everybody to understand. I somebody doesn’t get it, perhaps we need to enter into his world. Of course, this is much easier said than done. It requires work on our part and the other person has to be open about what his world is like. Fortunately, Adolph’s passion for hockey allowed me to discover valuable insights about his character.

I lost track of Adolph. A job that I wanted more took me out of the province. My fondest desire is that this young lad landed on his feet and is happy in life. I know what the perfect job for him would have been. Something working with a professional hockey team was right up his alley.

I wonder if he ever got to meet Wayne Gretzky. I hope so.