When, upon life’s freeways, backroads and typical streets, we are called upon to travel, we never are alone. Beyond the actual passengers who travel with us, the three members of the Scenario Family always jump in the car, train, plane, motorboat or motorcycle with us and make themselves comfortable.
Without invitation, Rosie, the most pleasant Scenario by far; Norm, whose full name is Normal; and W.C., who never likes to be called Worst Case, all the Scenarios always jump in and share the ride! While some of us have learned to tune out the chatter from some members of the Scenario Family and only listen to one, they always are with us, and they always are talking in our ear.
Bob Newell
All three members of this family tend to sit in the back seat and whisper to us on every one of life’s journeys. Although we might wish it differently, the Scenarios have earned a reputation for persistent backseat driving, especially when we encounter an interruption, detour or other delay in reaching our destination.
We rarely hear from Norm, since he is so “average,” so “normal” and so typically quiet and easy to get along with. Norm is just “there” most of the time. And other than being boring, we barely notice him. Norm counts on us to remember “how things usually turn out,” so he doesn’t say much.
W.C., on the other hand, always tends to be negative, critical and super cautious. If we listened to W.C. — and he is hard to ignore! — we might never even make the trip. (The rumor is W.C. was once a lawyer.) He is so afraid of what could or might happen, one wonders if he ever contemplates happy endings at all. W.C. loves rear-view mirrors and often looks behind us, lecturing us about what is following us, what nearly hit us or what might actually catch up with us and bump us in the rear. Even when we arrive at our destination, you can count on good ol’ W.C. to critique the driving or the rest stops and to calculate all the unknown costs of the journey. I do declare! It seems W.C. has not a positive bone in his body. I do not know why he is so negative.
I’m just guessing you will agree with me — this trip called life can be tough!
And then, there is little Rosie. She is the smallest, youngest and least-likely-to-interrupt member of the Scenario Family. Sometimes, she appears detached from reality. Overall, she inhabits the happiest of places. Wherever we travel, Rosie always looks out the window, cherishing the moment, wanting to make the best of every happening on the trip.
W.C. says Rosie is young and naïve. He predicts when she gets as old and as well-travelled as he is, she will be a little more “realistic.” He says extensive travel in life tends to take the shine off most people. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me” the crusty and disillusioned W.C. says.
One day, when this discussion popped up in life’s back seat, Norm, usually the quiet one, looked W.C. straight in the face and fired a good one at him: “W.C., don’t you know disillusion is the child of illusion?” Everyone in both the front and the back seats went quiet when usually reticent Norm reprimanded his older brother. You could hear everyone’s mental wheels turning, even louder than the sound of the tires on the blacktop.
Now, let me ask you something. How is a person supposed to think clearly and drive well with all of this commotion in the back seat?
More than once, when I was driving through my life and those three Scenarios were arguing in the back seat, I turned around and said, with authority, “Don’t make me stop this car!” But do you know what? They didn’t pay any attention to me. And I’m driving! Without me, nobody would get where they are going!
I tell you, sometimes I wish Ma Scenario had delivered another child who would have been a genetic combination of her first three offspring and strong enough to kick all three siblings out of my car and take away their tickets to my travel.
I’m just guessing you will agree with me — this trip called life can be tough!
Sometimes, we must listen to the high-pitched, nasal, clanging chatter and cautionary tales from W.C. On other occasions — most of the time, really — let’s learn how to enjoy the easy-listening melodious voice of little Rosie. To be truthful, much of the time, I actually prefer Norm’s companionship. But, of course, even Normal must claim his siblings, at times. So, I’ll drive on.
But don’t get me started talking about the potholes!
Bob Newell has served as a university professor and administrator, a local-church pastor and a cross-cultural missionary. He and his wife, Janice, now live in Georgetown, Texas, and he serves churches as transition coach and intentional interim pastor. They were the founders and remain advocates of PORTA, the Albania House in Athens, Greece.
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