My wife and I were both school teachers when our 5 year old was pre-tested for kindergarden roundup. Mary, a Special Ed teacher, and myself, instrumental music, had always engaged our son in any activity that involved social interaction, reading and general observation. The nearest major city to where we lived was a 35 mile drive. Many times, junior and I would drive into the city to shop. One of my favorite games was to ask him what he would see along the way. He would point out overhead lights as we drove by rest areas. I would ask him where the lights were and he would proudly say and point "Over there." And I would tease him by responding "Over where?" "Over there, daddy." "Over there", I would ask pointing in the opposite direction. "No daddy, OVER THERE!" It wasn't before long that he caught on to what I was doing. One of our stops was a shopping Mall where he and I would get an ice cream cone and walk around. What thrilled him most about the Mall was the escalator or, "Slippery steps" as he would call it. "C'mon, dad, the slippery steps." Up and down, up and down he would ride those stairs to whatever fantasy destination his mind took him. Then there would be the water tower on the way home. He never really saw it as we drove eastward towards the city. But, on the return trip as we rounded a gentle curve in the highway, there suddenly stood as if out of nowhere, a town's water tower. He would look at that in awe. I would ask him what he was seeing and he would say, with sotto voce..."The Silver Tower." I didn't have to ask.
Mary and I, along with our son, were called in by the school to discuss the pre-test results. It appeared that the County Psychologist was concerned about his ability to successfully begin school at this time. Studies were explained to us that showed he was to young a 5 year old to be enrolled. When I specifically asked for examples from his test, the Psycholigist stepped up and bluntly said that there were two questions our boy answered that caused him the most concern. Looking back just as sternly I asked what those two questions were. " The first one, he replied was when the clouds disperse following a rain shower, what is the first thing you see." "And his answer was, I asked. "A rainbow," he replied. "A rainbow," I said, looking over to Mary with a smile on my face. "That's wonderful!" So what's wrong with that answer, I asked. Flatly and plainly, he said that the correct answer was the Sun.
Junior could sense that something wasn't right and began squirming in his seat. I raised my hand signalling him to remain still as I asked the psychologist what the second question was. With a maintained drone, he said that the question asked what color is a banana. I sat there somewhat surprised by the simplicity of the question. Mary took the lead and simply asked..."And ?" He replied that our son said a banana is white. "White?" Mary and I asked. She turned to look at him and asked why would he say that a banana is white. Without skipping a beat, he looked up and said, quite matter-of-factly, "Mommy, the banana skin is yellow. When you peel it to eat the banana, it's white." An uneasy silence hung for a few moments. I got up from the chair I had sat in and said to everyone in the room..."Well, I'll be damned. White."
I looked at my son with a big smile on my face and said that he was right. However, I did ask why he thought that a rainbow is the first thing he would see following a rain shower. He looked at me knowingly and simply said that the sun is much to bright to look at and that the first thing he really does see is the rainbow. I turned to face those on the other side of the desk and assured them that our son would be starting kindergarden in the fall. As I set myself to leave the room, I turned to look at the psychologist and simply said that it would be far better for all of us to see the rainbow.

Epilogue:
His teacher that year kept us apprised of our sons progress and professed that he was such a bright young boy with both an intelligence and creative imagination. Circumstances led to our family moving to another town. We enrolled him in the local Catholic parochial school. Once again, we moved and, once again, enrolled him in the local Catholic parochial school where he remained throughout his school years. Several months ago, I was met by his kindergarden teacher as I was shopping in a Mall. She looked at me and said that the banana is indeed white and that she has seen more rainbows than ever before. As we parted, she looked up to me and asked that I tell him that she is very proud of him and referred to a recent press release she read that featured him among those young career people who are on the move onward and upward.

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