Peter Pineapple: The Backstory

 

Peter Pineapple: The Backstory

     When the Pineapples settled in the beach community in the 1990s, Peter’s grandfather, Prescott, stressed the importance of protecting the sand dunes and the nearby sea life. Of course, that made a great deal of sense for a marine biologist. The community leaders noted those and all of the other vital decisions Prescott made, and they unanimously elected him mayor of the community. In fact, they were so impressed with his accomplishments that they renamed the street where the family lived Pineapple Lane.
     Peter’s father, Phillip, grew up walking just a short block to the beach each morning. He cherished the peaceful opportunities to view the sun rising over the majestic Pacific Ocean. Unlike his father, Philip wasn’t interested in marine biology as a career; instead, he chose to be a photographer. While other young men in his community played soccer or surfed, Philip laser-focused his attention on capturing early morning sunrises and building a portfolio of elegant ocean scenes. Many families in the community selected Philip to photograph their outdoor weddings as well as countless neighborhood special events.
      As he matured, creativity became one of Peter’s easily recognizable strengths; both his father and grandfather encouraged him to examine everyday activities from a unique vantage point. Just the simple act of walking to school became an opportunity to follow different routes in order to both save time and to observe community patterns. During his lunch period, he often spent time playing chess with his math teacher. When lunch ended, Peter often calmly solved difficult algebraic equations.
     On campus, Peter’s classmates recognized his innovative accomplishments and sought him out whenever they needed to solve unique problems. When he volunteered to design the invitations to Paula’s surprise birthday party, Coco knew his product would be superb.
     In addition, Peter learned to be a skillful counselor. Enrolling in a Peer Counseling class alerted him to the benefits of helping others to handle stressful situations. He seemed to be a “natural” counselor. Truthfully, his caring nature helped him to convince Benny Blueberry to join the group planning Paula’s surprise birthday party. That feat altered the party’s success and transformed Benny’s life!