I'd been wandering through a corn maze with my 10-year-old son, Jack, and his best friend, Duncan, for a couple of hours and had no idea if we were right around the corner from the exit or just a few feet from where we started. We were at a crossroads. Should we go left? Right? Forward? Back? And then, like an angel of mercy, a friendly teenager in a staff T-shirt came around a bend and offered the hint we needed. With a subtle wink, so that the boys had no idea we were getting help, he nodded toward a pathway, then smiled slyly as we headed down the right one. I looked back, and mouthed the words "thank you" to him. We trudged on.