When I grow up...

...... I'm going to cure AIDS (John Paul, 12 year old boy)


(John Paul & Jarrod)

The other kids were playing twister on my front porch with chalk and giggles, while we sat under the paw paw tree and discussed life. He asked me a number of sensational questions. How many children on average do families have in Australia? what is the age girls get married and have babies? what is the main food in Australia? how many people live in a house? how many cars do people have? how many computers do people have? what jobs do most people do? what do most people do at college? do you have markets? how much money do people earn? do you have dirt roads? How many people have aids? how many funerals would you go to in a year? how many times have you had malaria at home? how many aeroplanes do you catch to get to Australia? how much money do you need to buy a bunch of banana’s or a goat? are houses made from bricks or wood? Why aren’t you married yet? are there not enough guys in Australia? (I just laughed at that one!!) How many children are there in Australia? Is there war in your countries history? Do you have black people like us who were in the country before the white people arrived?

I was rather exhausted but enthralled by all of his questions, I decided to return the question firing but I never got past the first....

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Im going to be a scientist. Or a doctor. Im not sure. BUT if im a scentist, I’ve decided im going to cure aids. It can’t be that hard.

Why not? I asked I little curiously.

Well they keep telling us how its spread… over and over again… enough already… I knoew its sex. i think its cos lots of adults try and say that it must be something else

Oh yeah like what?

Like maybe because someone was bad, or because the cuahgt it from condoms, or from food, or mosquitos or medicine or something. That’s just cos they don’t want to stop having sex though. Some people are really stupid you know. I hope I never become stupid when im older.

John for president I say!

SO anyway, I’ve been thinking about the mosquitos one. And you know how they don’t have a cure for aids. Well they were saying that mosquitos can’t carry the disease because it dies inside fo them so that it can’t be passed on to another person right. So if we take all of the juices out of mosquitos and inject them into humans, maybe it will kill the aids. Obviously there is something inside of the mozzies that kills the virus. Well its worth a try don’t you think?

I wasn't really sure how to respond, so I just asked….but everyone would get malaria???

Yeah, so what!!… I think that’s ok, atleast we can treet malaria. I’d choose malaria over aids wouldn’t you? (he said this looking at me like I was a bit stupid!)

Then he proceeded to say, it may not work, but all the best scientists stuffed up a few times before they got it right didn’t they? Im willing to give it a go! Im pretty sure I’d like being famous!

I really like John Paul... he's cool!