Page 32 - The Exceptional Harley Fetterman

JUDY K JOHNSON

dangerous—but also totally unlike Harley. Kevin witnessed the near
accident, became startled, and then angry with the seriousness of this
incident. Kevin's rules of parenting mandated that he never discipline
when angry. Harley was told that his punishment would be handled
later—which turned out to be three whole days later. Harley,
miserable the entire time he waited for Kevin's verdict, later
remarked, “The waiting was worse than the spanking I got!”
Following this incident, it became more obvious that Harley's
eyesight was somehow not the best. Beth theorized that Harley may
have inherited her poor vision and would probably need glasses
especially when he started school. The summer before Harley first
started school, the family went on a thrilling vacation to Disney World
in Orlando, Florida. The threesome took part together on almost all
the rides. Harley's normal position of choice was sitting beside one of
his parents. When they approached the entrance to the Space
Mountain Ride, Harley noticed the seats were aligned one in front of
the other and apprehensively paused a moment before climbing into
his seat.

“Uh Mom, I don't know about this!” Harley murmured in a shaky
voice. The ride took off with an uneasy lurch forward, but by the time
the ride was over, Harley was cheering with excitement and having a
marvelous time.

Unfortunately, later in the Disney World adventure, Harley's
parents noticed that Harley was obviously not thrilled in the least with
the Animal Kingdom Safari Ride. They had predicted this would be
the highlight of his vacation.
As they toured through the “Safari” pasture full of meandering,
grazing giraffes, Harley was obviously very quiet and acting entirely
bored. Both Kevin and Beth were puzzled and concerned. Harley
loved giraffes. The fact that he didn't even notice or comment on any
of his “favorite” animals revealed that he must obviously have serious
trouble with his vision.
Although Harley was still able to function very well, they decided
it was extremely important to get his eyes checked out with a good
ophthalmologist before he started school in a few weeks.

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