Against the Odds

Against the Odds — page 1 — For Otto

Against the Odds — page 2 — My father was on his way to a war His suitcase was packed He just had to say goodbye Every now and then he went off to a war At least once a year You’re heading the wrong way when you go off to a war It’s better to stay as far away from wars as you can But my father is a doctor and they need doctors in a war My father likes to be needed All my father’s trips had turned out okay So far he had always come home in one piece But I worried that traveling is kind of like jumping rope For a long time you skip along just fine But not forever Sooner or later you miss a beat Don’t worry said my father That didn’t help Traveling is dangerous Everyone knows that All kinds of things can happen For example my father could get sick He could get malaria Or yellow fever And there are tons of other scary diseases Come on Kiki my father said It’s not such a big deal I’m super healthy and I’ve had lots of shots He

Against the Odds — page 3 — pulled up his sleeve to show me where he had been stuck I stood on my tiptoes and looked There was a small red spot among the freckles on his upper arm Is that all I said And I’m taking pills he said My father could also be shot dead There are tons of soliders in a war Maybe one of them might think that my father was the enemy And then of course they would shoot him I don’t take sides my father said Any soldier can see that right away My father could get into an accident He could drive his car into a ravine Or his plane could crash Do you know the story of the man who was afraid of everything my father said Yes I answered My father loved telling the story of the man who was afraid of everything It’s a stupid story The man who was afraid of everything didn’t dare leave his home because he was convinced it was dangerous outside One day a huge tree fell on the house and the man who was afraid of everything was killed You know what it means my father said An accident

Against the Odds — page 4 — can happen anywhere It isn’t smart to be afraid of everything and stay home If everyone stayed home the world would never change But I would still rather have my father stay home He could be hit by a stray bullet Stray bullets are worse than soldiers They do what they want They fly through the air and nobody can even see them coming Stray bullets don’t exist my father said Yes they do I answered Don’t worry my father said I’ve never seen one But when you see one it’s too late I answered

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