Sometimes the things so simple even children can do them, somehow prove to be quite difficult in the adult world.
Introduction
From March to September 2006 I was assigned to a military staff position in Baghdad, Iraq. During that period my wife wrote a letter nearly every day. With the modern technology of e-mail and VOIP phones, we corresponded often and managed all our routine business via the communication methods that offered us instant gratification, but I eagerly anticipated her letters. Having the routine business out of the way left ample opportunity for more personal thoughts to be penned in ink on old-fashioned paper. She regularly slipped a photo, cartoon, news clipping, or other item of interest into the envelope. It was in this manner that the kids' "fort rules" first came to me.
Immediately I got a kick out of reading the rules, maybe more so due to the fact that we were in the middle of a war. The thought struck me: If we could all just follow these ten simple principles, maybe we wouldn't need to be here at all.
I shared the page my wife had covertly photocopied from our children's secret "Fort Book" with my co-workers, and, after seeing they were equally amused, I did what every good desk jockey of the post-modern era does-I forwarded it to everyone in my electronic address book! And thus, my friends, another e-mail chain was created. Some of the recipients forwarded the e-mail, and I soon began to receive e-mail replies commenting on the appropriateness of the "Rules."
Several people posted the "Rules" in their cubicles, work sections, or conference rooms. One office near the ancient ruins of Babylon officially adopted them to govern all their meetings.
I guess the point is, if children can conjure up some basic rules for getting along and agree to abide by them, might not those same rules be every bit as applicable in our adult relationships, meetings, work environments, and day-to-day interactions?
About the Kids Who Built the Fort
In many ways the kids of the fort were no different from other kids around the world. They went to school, they did homework, and they did occasional jobs around the house. When they were not working they were playing. Sometimes even play was work - building a fort, in this case.
A couple of kids-usually the older ones-naturally tended to be the leaders of the pack. Several followed the group and did whatever the others were doing. One, whose antics tended toward the mischievous side, may have been the reason for some of the "Rules."
The gang was a mix of boys and girls, but mostly girls. When not constructing or remodeling the fort they spent their time warding off pirates, slaying dragons, sword fighting with swords made of sticks and duct tape, or spying on the "big boys" in the next lot over.
But life is not all fun and games. Sometimes serious business takes precedence even in the lives of preteens. At such a time, a fort meeting was convened, and the kids soon discovered that a few rules were necessary to maintain order so that they could get down to business.
What follows is the list of the ten fort rules as they were inscribed in the kids' secret "Fort Book," with a grown-up exposition of each rule. Ironically, sometimes the things "so simple even children can do them" somehow prove to be quite difficult in the adult world.
