A.J. and The Magic Wand

THE STORY OF A.J. AND THE MAGIC WAND

         Every story has a beginning and this story begins in 1987.  I was completing a school counseling internship at an elementary school near Rapid City, South Dakota.  At the time I was interested in the study of altered states of consciousness and telepathy.  I made no secret of my scholarly passion and the elementary teachers kept no secrets that they thought I was “unique” because of it.  I was fully aware that unique was code for “special” and special really meant different in a negative sort of way.  Fortunately, or unfortunately, I was not alone.  I was assigned an equally “unique” client who was running around telling teachers he could see colors in them!  Mrs. A. was green and Mrs. B. was blue.  Most all of the teachers, and the principal, were referred to by their color rather than by name.  Now isn’t that “special” they would say. 
         A.J. was an active third-grade boy.  His long black hair was traditional for his Lakota people who made their home on the Pine Ridge Reservation a short drive away (short by South Dakota standards).  A.J. excelled in color recognition almost as much as he excelled in playground fights, failure to complete homework assignments, and poor study habits.  To his teachers, he was obviously in need of counseling.  His arrival to my borrowed office that morning was nothing short of a miracle and serves to this day as one of the most memorable experiences of my life. 
         I sat looking at the ESP cards in front of me.  One by one I wondered if this telepathy thing really had merit worthy of study.  Could a person really look at these symbols and transmit the image to another person?  As I held the cards like a gambler holding a poker hand, I focused my attention on the circle…a symbol of unity and completion.  Would I really be able to complete this internship?  My concentration was broken by the voice saying, “You are green!”  What!?  As A.J. steps in the door he is already asking a question, “Why are you looking at that circle?”  A second, “What?” was the only utterance my disbelief could muster.  Some counselor…must be the product of poor study skills in graduate school. 
         This young person had my attention.  He had an aura about him that really was special…only his special glowed gifted.  A.J. and I spent our initial session “playing the card guessing game.”  Guess what?  This young man could capture the symbol I was transmitting with nearly 90% accuracy.  I jokingly said that he should go to Las Vegas…He could become a millionaire.  Las Vegas didn’t register as important, but what was important was his interest in telling me about his grandfather who was a “Holy Man” on the reservation and how he was going to be a medicine man just like him. 
         As our visits continued, A.J. told me his story, and I listened intently.  He was the master and I was his attentive student.  Frankly, I had no idea what to do to “fix” this young person so when in doubt, just listen.  As time went on, I felt less a need to fix anything.  Maybe my interventions should be with some of the teachers instead…hummm.  But a funny thing happened on day…A.J.’s teacher came in and said, “What have you been doing with A.J.?  He has been getting his homework done and it looks good!”  I responded, “I’m not doing anything…I’m just listening.”  Time passes and other teachers report how well A.J. has been getting along with other children on the playground.  The question is always the same, “what are you doing?  It is really working!”  I’m NOT doing anything…I’m just listening.
         A.J. was improving in all areas and I could not take credit for his change…I was merely providing an environment in which he was valued and listened to.
         At the end of the year my internship was complete…another academic gestalt closed and with it a true sense of having been part of a special life.  On my last day, A.J. comes to my office with a gift.  He hands me a small stick about 12 inches long.  “I want you to have this Magic Wand as a going away present” he says.  I take the stick and say, “thank you for the stick, A.J., I really appreciate it!”  A.J. responded, like an elder looking down on a child, “I just told you, it’s a magic wand”…his face was stern…this third-grader meant business.  As I looked at the gift I once again, I uttered one final pathetic affective response, “A.J, it still looks like a stick to me, but thank you so much for the gift.”  The look of hurt on A.J.’s face became that of an eight year-old boy, but his words really captured the spirit of the year.  He said, “When you came nobody believed in me.  I thought you believed in me, but now that you are leaving you don’t believe in me either.”  With those words, A.J. turns and walks out the door. 
         My heart sank…my mind froze…the image of this little boy crushed by a counselor trainee who had violated the cardinal rule of counseling…DO NO HARM!  As I contemplated reentering the “hurting profession” from which I had come, A.J. saves the day.  He peeks his head around the door, grinning from ear-to-ear, and says, “it doesn’t matter…If your bag of tricks don’t work on your new friends, just take out the Magic Wand…you hold on to one end, and have your friend hold on to the other end, and they will get better.”  With those words, A.J. left and with our respective departures, set me on a course of seeing the world differently.  As I reflected on A.J.’s counseling with me, I had to acknowledge that while the gift looked like a stick, I could not deny that A.J. had gifts that I could not explain, and that this stick just might be a magic want.  I took out a scratch piece of paper and wrote the following words on it, “SAVE…MAGIC WAND…USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.”  I wrapped the notice around the little stick and stapled it securely. 
         From 1987 until this day, I have had many opportunities to intervene in the helping role.  My graduate education has continued and the training received has been exceptional.  But I must admit that there have been times when my “bag of tricks” was depleted and I was at a complete loss for a suitable intervention.  It was during these times that the Magic Wand was employed.  And while my formal training has failed to produce the desired result, the Magic Wand has NEVER failed.