Summary

Quincy, a 14-year-old boy, enjoys playing badminton without keeping score, which perplexes his goal-oriented mother and neighbor who equate success with happiness and self-worth.

Abstract

Quincy engages in the simple pleasure of hitting a badminton birdie without the desire to track his success or set records. His mother observes his play and is concerned that he lacks ambition, as he does not count his hits nor does he have a clear career goal in mind. She believes that without goals and the drive to achieve them, Quincy will not feel a sense of accomplishment or worth. Quincy's neighbor, Ida Lou, shares the mother's concern, questioning the purpose of Quincy's play if not to strive for a personal best. The mother fears her son may never understand the importance of success or achieve it, even considering the possibility that he might be "a wee bit retarded." Despite these worries, Quincy appears to derive genuine joy from his unstructured play, suggesting a contrast between societal expectations of success and personal fulfillment.

Opinions

Quincy's mother values the setting and achieving of goals as a measure of success and self-worth.
Ida Lou, the neighbor, aligns with the mother's views, unable to comprehend Quincy's contentment without competitive objectives.
Quincy's own opinion is that enjoyment and being present in the activity are more important than tracking success or pursuing a career.
The mother perceives Quincy's lack of interest in traditional markers of success as a potential developmental issue, indicating a narrow view of what constitutes normal or healthy aspirations.
There is an underlying critique of the societal pressure to equate personal achievement with quantifiable success.

A World Without Success

Can there be joy?

Quincy was in the back yard with his badminton racket playing by himself. He hit the birdie straight up in the air then hit it again as it came down. It wasn’t always hit straight so he had to move around a bit to catch the birdie on its descent. Up and down. Up and down.

His mother came out to the yard, “My, Quincy, I was watching through the window and I must say that I am impressed with how long you’ve kept it going. What’s your current record?”

Quincy caught the birdie in his hand and turned to face his mother, “What do you mean?”

“How many consecutive times have you hit the birdie without it falling to the ground?”

“I have no earthly idea.”

“Don’t you count?”

“Oh gosh no. That would take all the fun out of it.”

“But if you count then you’ll know what your record is and then you’ll have a goal to beat; something to strive for.”

“Gee, that doesn’t sound fun at all.”

“Oh Quincy…” His mother went back in the house.

Ida Lou, the neighbor, was standing at the kitchen sink looking out the window at Quincy. When Quincy’s mother came back into the kitchen she looked at her, “So what’s his record?”

“He doesn’t know. He doesn’t count.”

“What? He doesn’t count? So what’s the point?”

“Exactly! Ida Lou, I just don’t know what to do with that boy. He’s fourteen years old and has absolutely no goals. None whatsoever. You know, last week I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up and you know what he said?”

“What?”

“He said he wanted to be a grown up. I said, No, I mean what career do you want to pursue? And he said that he didn’t want to pursue a career that he just wanted to be a human. So I told him that you can’t be a grown up human without a career or goals. Without goals and without a plan how can you work feverishly towards those goals? Seriously, that kid has no concepts of goals and progress and success. How can he ever achieve results in order to feel worthy?”

Ida Lou scratched her chin and furrowed her brow.

“I’m really worried about him. I’m afraid he’ll never be a success at anything. He just doesn’t understand how important success is. To be honest, I think he might just be a wee bit retarded.”

Ida Lou looked out the window at Quincy, “Well he sure seems to be enjoying himself.”

Speaking of badminton…

Birdie

Sudden word flashbacks

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