When You Were a Child and It’s Just a Word

I. When you were a child and telegraphed really stupid behavior upon which you were about to embark and a wise, perceptive parent noticed and chose to help avert disaster

and stopped you in your tracks, you were not real happy or receptive to any recommendations that parent might have offered or upon which to insist

and so you were going to go right ahead.

And then you learned that was a really bad course of action, maybe not for the good reason your parent intended, but simply because you experienced some pain (like a time out) and

hopefully avoided bigger pain then and on down the line. That’s the parent’s intent, desire, wish, prayer.  They don’t know for sure what they are doing, but they know that

something has to be done, that is, if they are on the job.

II. Now you are an adult on your own and you telegraph really stupid behavior upon which you are about to embark

and all your wise, perceptive, really mature friends notice and choose to avert disaster by not trying to stop you in your tracks by saying anything.  They do nothing,

because that has become the thing to do.

You know you are going to be really happy because there is no warning sign, stop sign, road block, fire alarm, siren, anything.  You don’t stop and nobody knows whether or not

you experienced pain in your death, but your wise, perceptive friends sure did. Unless they said, “Well, hell, at some point you have to be responsible for your own behavior.”

Yeah, but, a word to the wise, or perhaps even the not so wise?  After all, we are only talking about a word here.