What seems to be the problem, Al?' Mom had said. 'Everyone's calling me bossy and fat,' he'd said. 'Plus they say I'm sneaky.' 'Well, Al,' she'd said, 'you are bossy and you are fat. And I'm guessing you can be pretty sneaky. But you know what else you are? You have what is called moral courage. When you know something is right, you do it, no matter what the cost.' Mom could sometimes be full of it. Once, she'd said she could tell by the way he ran upstairs that he'd make a great mountain climber. Once, when he managed a B-minus in math, she'd said he should be an astronomer.

— George Saunders

#tenth-of-december #courage