The snow and ice that covered Indiana has closed IUPUI for three days. This means I can stay home, put in a special “WTH” code into my time sheet and get paid for watching West Wing episodes. Not one to watch all seven seasons in one sitting (although seasons 3 & 4 were especially captivating on Tuesday), I had time to think about my life and the direction in which I am headed. After 10 or 15 minutes, I realized I needed advice and knowing my family’s lack of interest in this area, I went to the people who care for me, no matter what the circumstances: my friends in the West Wing, season 3. Here’s how the conversation went.
Curt: What should I do when I grow up?
Bruno: When I was a teenager, I crewed Larchmont to Nassau on a 58-foot sloop called Cantice.
Curt: So you think I should be a sailor?
Bartlett: Excellent! Let’s talk temperature.
Curt: What?
Bartlett to Leo: I’ve got to tell him I lost a submarine. Can I make something up like say ‘what if a friend of mine hypothetically…’
Curt: You DO know I can hear you, right?
Bartlett: Oh, yeah, I forgot.
Curt: But in season 2, the Ellie episode, you told me that I should just keep coming home? You said, “The only thing you ever had to do to make me happy was come home at the end of the day.”
Bartlett: I was wrong. I was. I was just…I was wrong. Come on, you know that.
Curt: So what now?
Bartlett: I would have been a great astronaut.
Curt: You think I should be an astronaut?
Abbey: You’re afraid of heights, speed, fire, and small enclosed spaces.
Curt: You have a very good point. What do you think, Charlie?
Charlie: Aren’t you supposed to be writing?
Curt: I am writing.
Charlie: I don’t see any paper.
Curt: You are not helping.
Curt: President Bartlett, do you have any ideas at all?
Bartlett: We need heroes.
And that’s when it came to me. No more research. No more laundry or dishes. No more reading or writing. I’ll be a hero. I’ll make a difference in this world by saving people from evil. I need a cape, a mask of some sort and a secret identity.
I really need to get out of this house.
