Who's Albert Schweitzer?

When Kiddo was about two and a half, he turned to me and said, "Who's Albert Schweitzer?"

Shocked, I asked, "WHAT?"

"Who's Albert Schweitzer?" he repeated.

Mystified as to where this question came from, I replied,"Well, I think he was a famous doctor. I'll have to ask your Gobby."

Now you have to remember that this was a period of intense and rapid learning for Kiddo. At two years, four months we discovered he could just pick up first grade level books and read them with no help. Say what? At two years, two months he set out to learn all the Presidents by number, which he did. At two years, six months he learned all 50 states-- and the next month he taught himself the capitals. ALL BECAUSE HE WANTED TO. We read to him, and had bought him those $1 placemats at Wal-mart which had that info on it, but we had no expectations that he would really be interested in them for quite a while. So when he asked who Albert Schweitzer was, I may have had no idea where he'd heard of him, but I thought I'd better find out a REAL answer to what I thought was a sincere question.

When I was in High School, I had to write an essay on "The Most Awe-Inspiring Person." My mother had insisted that I really should write about Albert Schweitzer, but I was determined to write about one of MY childhood heroes, so I disappointed her by choosing that lame-o Florence Nightingale. (You know I'm kidding, right? Okay, on to the story...) But it was stored in my long-term that my mom must be an expert about him, so I called her up and asked,
"Who's Albert Schweitzer?"

"Well, I'm not exactly sure. He was a famous doctor. He did a lot of work in one of the African countries. I don't know much more than that."

Say what? All these years I thought she was a charter member of his fan club, and that's ALL she could remember? Tsk, tsk. Well, it looked like I was going to have to do some research on the man, after all.

Of course, the best place for research is the library, so during my next trip, I located a children's biography of Mr. Schweitzer and excitedly showed it to Kiddo, who was at most, mildly interested. While reading it, I was amazed by his life story. He wasn't JUST a doctor; he was also a prolific author, a famed organist, a peace activist, built a hospital for the poor in Gabon-- and oh, won a little award called The NOBEL PEACE PRIZE. Maybe you've heard of it?

Much to my surprise, Kiddo did sit and listen to me read about two chapters of the book and in his sweet innocence agreed with me that Albert Schweitzer was a really cool guy, maybe someone he could grow up to be like. But it still didn't answer the question: how in the WORLD did he know about the man in the first place?

Then, one day, the answer revealed itself while we were watching this little gem, the "sequel," if you will, to "A Charlie Brown Christmas":

At the time Kiddo was obsessed with all things Snoopy, and was also deep into his parroting phase, in which he quoted lines from his videos ad infinitum. So it should have come as no surprise when we were watching, and I heard the following exchange:

Sally: If I get socks again for Christmas this year, I'll go even more crazy.

Linus: I remember reading that Albert Schweitzer dreaded the thought of receiving Christmas gifts. And do you know why that was? It was because he hated having to write thank you notes. What do you think about that?

Sally: Who's Albert Schweitzer?

AHA! I went to all that trouble and Kiddo was just repeating a line from a Peanuts special? You gotta be kidding me! Certainly that explanation made more sense than anything more profound I might have been imagining! Ah, well.

BUT... all was not in vain. Our research on Mr. Schweitzer has given Kiddo an incredible goal that I honestly hope one day he will achieve. The other thing I forgot to mention was that at about two years old, Kiddo had looked up at me, tapped himself on the chest and said, "Doctor." It seems he knew early on what his career aspirations were. So since he was planning ahead anyway, I thought perhaps he should set another goal to live a life like Mr. Schweitzer's. After all, he was certainly showing signs of genius already, and after our visit to Lesotho, I knew a perfect place for him to do some amazing work. But I didn't think a whole lot about it at the time because after all, he WAS TWO AND A HALF.

Yet, after that incident, Kiddo also decided that he wanted to be President someday. And he learned some things about the Presidents-- such as, that several have won the Nobel Peace Prize. And he also heard Mommy say that The Nobel Peace Prize was probably the most amazing worldly honor one could win. And he heard Mommy and Daddy talk about the lack of availability of quality medical care for most people in Lesotho.  So, of course, Kiddo decided that he should win the Nobel Peace Prize, too.  Isn't that a right and proper goal for the future POTUS?  ;)  Again, one day we were just talking, and that subject of the NPP came up and Kiddo just casually threw out there, "I think I should win that one day... when I'm 58." But how?

Well, at about the time he came up with his goal, the unthinkable happened. Our dearest little Isaac died. And somewhere, in Kiddo's memory, he remembered that Albert Schweitzer won the Peace Prize after building a hospital in Gabon. So he told us that like Mr. Schweitzer, he is going to build a hospital some day. I suggested he could name it in honor of Isaac, which he loved. He says he wants to call it the "Isaactown Hospital." Throughout the last two years, the location has changed. Sometimes it will be in Lesotho, sometimes in Utah or Colorado (because he wants to live there someday), sometimes in Iowa or Illinois-- and, my personal favorite-- sometimes in ALL of those places. Sometimes he imagines he'll build a whole town with a school and a library and everything. Can you imagine? I know he's still just five and a half, but... Can you just imagine it? If he could achieve even a small fraction of that, he will do more than most of us ever even attempt.  Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. Again, this is something I need to remember on those days when it seems he is determined to drive me to the brink of complete insanity. Because somewhere inside that crazy, brilliant, stubborn little boy, there might just be a future Nobel Laureate. 

Nobel Laureate of 2064 (Yes, he says he'll be 58 when he wins! ;) )

If you're interested in learning more about the truly "awe-inspiring" Mr. Schweitzer, who has given my little guy the courage to dream a really big dream, look here:

http://www.schweitzershospitalfund.org.uk/index.html
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1952/schweitzer-bio.html
http://www.schweitzerfellowship.org/