Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to My American Hero. This program is brought to you by POS Podcast Productions. Here's Arthur Stevens reflecting on an inside joke he shared with his brother.
Speaker: When I was seven years old, my brother and I were riding in the back of my mom's car when I noticed in a nearby field some kids up in a tree. I called out, hey, look at the kids in the tree.
Speaker: My brother mocked me. Look at the kids in the tree. Look at the kids in the tree. You're so stupid, he said. A few weeks later, we were driving by the same field, and my brother yells out, do you remember the kids in the tree?
Speaker: I laughed hysterically. For years, every time we drove by that field, we'd compete to see who would be the first to say, do you remember the kids in the tree? To this day, it's a reliable inside joke.
Speaker: But now, on the cusp of turning 50, I realize the joke's on me because I don't know anything about the lives of the kids in the tree. What gives me the right to laugh about the kids in the tree when I don't know them?
Speaker: If my brother were to ask me today if I remember the kids in the tree, I'd snap at him and say, fuck off, man. Don't you dare disrespect those kids. To the kids in the tree, whoever you are, I want you to know you are my American heroes.
