Trails Duly Blazed

Over dinner tonight TG and I were discussing the fact that our daughter had experienced a setback this week when she tried to get a North Carolina driver's license. Having lived in Pennsylvania from the time of her marriage until last July, it had been a long while since Steph was required to take a written test at the DMV. Because their second child is expected in a matter of weeks, Steph and Joel thought it best to stop procrastinating and get valid licenses walleted before the family tree sprouts another hungry howling twig. So they secured a thick book of rules and regulations and, armed with highlighters, began preparing for the multi-part examination.

A few days ago Stephanie, still reviewing and underlining, quelling bouts of panic, presented herself for testing. She brought her A Game and things went well until the last raft of questions. Although she came within a hair of passing, the bad news was that she had ultimately failed. Dejected, Steph went home where Joel both commiserated with her and made sure she drew him a detailed roadmap revealing the location of all the test's pitfalls. Even though she herself was shot down, thanks to her brave reconnaissance mission he passed his test on the first try. Steph tried again and passed too, and thank God that's behind them both.

The whole scenario reminded me of one of my most-loved TV programs as a kid: The Honeymooners. My sister and I never missed this early sitcom, even though it had been in reruns for years by the time we were old enough to watch it. The "hero" of the show was Ralph Kramden, played by the unbelievably funny Jackie Gleason. His character was deliciously offset by his jaded wife, Alice, portrayed brilliantly by Audrey Meadows. Ralph and Alice occupied a drab tenement walkup in New York City, where he worked as a municipal bus driver. Ralph, who had an inferiority complex, was always coming up with new schemes to get rich and famous.

Upstairs from the Kramdens lived their friends Ed and Trixie Norton, played by Art Carney and Joyce Randolph. Art worked in the NYC sewer, but in his spare time his goofy antics provided the ideal foil for Ralph's many delusions of grandeur. In one of my favorite episodes, Ralph managed to become a contestant on the popular game show Name That Tune. The deal was, they'd begin playing a song and you had to name the song in as few notes as possible. Ralph was convinced that he would win enough money this way to finally impress Alice, who wasn't easily impressed (but who, against all odds, loved him anyway).

So Ralph enlisted his friend Norton, who happened to be a competent pianist, to help him learn the first few bars of as many popular songs as he could. They studied for weeks, until Ralph could "name that tune" when Norton had played only one or two notes. Only problem was, Norton drove Ralph crazy by the way he warmed up before playing each song. Every time he began playing, by way of introduction he played the opening bars of Swanee. Ralph did not appreciate this and finally flipped out. Arms flailing, eyes bulging, he told Norton in no uncertain terms to stop introducing each song with whatever that other tune was.

Wait for it! The big night came and Ralph, on pins and needles, making everyone nuts by obsessing about all the songs he'd learned, got his opportunity to play Name That Tune on national television. And sure enough, the first song they played for him was Swanee. Only, he couldn't name that tune! He had never asked Norton the name of the song he was playing before he played all the songs Ralph concentrated on memorizing. He had to content himself with a consolation prize of a case of something or other ... Spam, most likely ... and eat it with plenty of crow, which was Ralph's main diet anyway.

So many have gone before us, paving the way for our successes. It's just good business to be alert, pay attention, make notes, and not take those people for granted. It's also wise to bear in mind that, with our actions -- and sometimes with a mere word or gesture -- we blaze a trail for those who follow behind.

Comments

[Keli]

I love your last paragraph! It's so true. I believe it was Sir Isaac Newton who said something like, "I stand on the shoulders of all the great people who came before me."

PS Thanks so much for your multitude of comments! Your inability to sleep (thanks to the coffee) was a big gain for me as your running commentary was very entertaining!

[Jennifer]

Girl, it was you who were keeping ME company ... I was so wired from that coffee, it was 4:30 when I finally got to sleep! LOL!