Sometimes some of the most fascinating lessons in life come when you least expect them. This is one of those moments that will stick to me. A moment that will have an enormous impact and be a constant reminder until the day I die.
Hopefully I can paint a picture with my words that will describe the impact and you can also share in the drama of this short event.
I had just gotten home from working my graveyard shift at my job. The commute home is about 45 minutes and this day, it was raining. The sky was gloomy and unpleasant. Fortunately I was listening to Jim Rohn talking about communication in my car so my mood was under my control. This allowed me to keep a grin on my face.
It wasn’t unlike any other normal day except for the fact that I got home after my oldest Son had gotten up for school. He was sitting on the sofa waiting for the clock to say he had to head to the bus stop. On Television, which he was watching, was a morning episode of Spongebob.
I sat down beside him instead of slipping upstairs and going to bed. It gives me some time to bond with both he and my wife at the same time before they start their day and I end mine.
Doing Time
The episode that was playing was quite funny. Spongebob was at driving school again attempting to take his driving test. After demolishing the entire school, along with the parking lot where the test was being taken, a nuclear explosion launches the boat into the air. With our little sponge friend at the wheel and Mrs. Puff, the drivers Ed. teacher, in the passenger seat, they go hurling into an array of mass chaos.
During their… flight… they attract the local police which begin the chase.
Of course, my son finds this funny.
After a few minutes of the cops trying to catch up and stop Spongebob anyway they can, the boat crashes into a truck filled with fruit punch. The truck explodes and the fruit punch floods the local rest home.
When the cops arrive, even though Spongebob was driving, they arrest Mrs. Puff and she is sent to jail.
Freedom
Well, for those of you who don’t know… Spongebob and Mrs. Puff have a real love/hate relationship. Basically, Spongebob loves driving school and Mrs. Puff hates dealing with him. She quickly began to see the benefits of being locked up. She no longer had to deal with Spongebob and in her point of view, was finally feeling free.
On the other side of things, Spongebob feels terrible about what has happened and recruits his trusty friend Patrick to help him break Mrs. Puff out of jail.
After a few attempts, Mrs. Puff tells Spongebob that she doesn’t want to leave jail and that she was happy she didn’t have to deal with him! Well, this didn’t even phase our little buddy. He just knew in his heart that he had to remind Mrs Puff what it was like to ‘live on the outside and not be in prison’.
Like a tidal wave smacking me in the face…
This is where the 17 seconds of this little show forced me into a near state of panic. The next moments followed by an innocent comment from my 7 year old son, nearly knocked me to the ground.
Here’s what happened…
Spongebob: (whispering in Patrick’s ear) “Patrick, she has lost it! She is completely institutionalized. She’s forgotten what its like to LIVE on the outside and not be in PRISON.”
Scene cuts to an unknown regular guy. He’s sitting in a car both hands on the wheel looking absolutely miserable. He’s on a 4 lane highway and stopped in traffic and all you hear are horns going off. This lasts 3 seconds.
Scene cuts to the same guy sitting in a cubicle in an office. He’s sitting there with the same miserable look and the clock behind him reads 12:20 (give or take). Around him are all his colleagues sharing in his misery. This lasts about 3 to 5 seconds.
Scene cuts to the same guy. The day is coming to an end as it’s dark outside. You see him standing inside his home looking out of his window. He has the same miserable face and tired eyes. In the background you can hear his wife say “Coming to bed honey?” to which he replies in a very monotone voice “yes dear…”.
Now as impacting and lesson filled as these 17 seconds of a silly little cartoon turned out to be, what followed was the icing on the cake.
My son said exactly what I was thinking and didn’t want to admit…
As innocently as he could ever mean it and without knowing the impact, he said with snicker in his voice “Hey Daddy… that guy was just like you!”
I went to bed and laid there wondering how much he notices and promising myself that if indeed he pictured me as a miserable trapped slave to society… that it needed to change.
What does a father say when his son asks his 40 year old dad… “Hey Dad, why aren’t we rich?”
The truth. That you spent your fortune on trinkets because you followed the wrong plan.
That is not a question I ever want to answer.
Take away what you want from this post.
You can judge or reflect.
You can deny or accept.
Whatever your situation… I hope you do take from this little post that life is in our control.
We make it what we want whether we know it or not.
The trick is to control your desires and go after them.
Take Care…
Here is the video of the scene from Nick themselves. In case you wanted to see if for yourself. Spongebob Squarepants – Doing Time
I can’t believe he said that!