Why do we have ears?

My coworker brought his seven-year-old to work. Sitting in my cube today, I saw a little body run past out of the corner of my eye. I was busy glaring at Excel's bitchy message about my spreadsheet skills, so I didn't see exactly who it was. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long, because I saw a little blonde head peeping in just a few moments later.

She sort of edged her way into sight, until I swiveled around and smiled at her.
"Hi there," I said, and took a sip from my cup of coffee.
"Hi," she said softly, looking at my shoes. I realized she must have been studying my bad foot.
"I broke my foot," I said helpfully, and then moved my backpack off the other chair in my cube. "Are you waiting for someone?" (filler question)
She nodded.
"You want to have a seat?"
She sat down with some mix of reluctance and relief. Her little denim skirt was precious, and she sat with her hands tucked under her legs. She had a pink and blue headband on, and I told her that I wished they'd make one like that for people my age these days.

Just then Helen from Building 12 IMed me and I looked back at my computer monitor. I heard her get up and leave, so I went back to working and listening to KEXP. A few minutes later she came back and sat down. She seemed to have renewed courage; maybe she got permission to come talk to me. Her dad, Chris, and I get along pretty well, and I think he was trying to wrap up some work so they could go get lunch.

"Can I ask you something?"
I turned around surprised. "Sure."
"Why are you wearing sunglasses?" She was looking at the top of my head where I had my sunglasses propped.
"Ah," I said ruefully, "I forgot to take these off when I came in. Thanks for reminding me." I put them in my drawer and took my awesomely nerdy safety glasses out of labcoat pocket. I usually have them on to push my hair back from my face... not so safety-oriented, I know.
"Why are you wearing those now?" She said, laughing a little.
I laughed back, "I need to keep my hair back so I can see my computer. I don't have a cool headband like you do, right?"
She smiled and swung her legs.

I turned back to my computer again to save my work in case Windows decided to kill my project while I was distracted.
And then I heard, "Why do we have ears?"
AH! I thought. I loved this kid. It was so awesome.
So I turned back and told her I needed mine "to hold up all my sets of glasses." But she just smiled and waited for a real answer, so I talked to her about why the outer ear was shaped the way it is. She's a smart cookie, that one. She already knew that sound traveled in waves, so it was easy to help her understand how the outer ear directs sound into the ear canal, to help us hear better.

Then I asked her why we have eyelids. "To blink," she said. And I asked her why we have to blink, and she looked at me funny. So then we talked about why eyes have to be wet to be able to focus and to function. And then I told her how some animals didn't have eyelids like us, yadda yadda yadda.

It wasn't like I droned on and on. I tried not to use vocabulary like retina and cornea either. That's a surefire way to lose attention. And anyway, she stayed interested in our little science chat, until Chris came by and found her. On her way out, I gave her my ultra geeky nerd safety glasses (we have like hundreds around our lab, and one's the same as any) and a mini Snickers from my desk. She was so surprised and happy, it was funny. I mean, I remember that feeling (I even miss it occasionally), and I guess it was just a funny feeling to be on the giving end of that instead of the receiving.

I really just felt like that was a bonus part of my day. Oo, that, and finding out my namesake is going to be passed on again! Already one of my friends at UVA named his second daughter after me, and now another expecting friend in the great state of Missour-ah is going to punish her unborn with my uncommon handle. But, no, really. I think it's possibly the nicest gift I've ever gotten: to have people like the name enough to want to use it, and not dislike me enough personally to change their mind. All good times, all around.

Prost!