I was in my car waiting in line at my son's elementary school to pick him up. There really isn't much to do except waste gas and wait your turn to pull off the street into the loading zone. In front of me this day was a bright yellow Pontiac Aztek. On the back window was a quote:
Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing. Optimus Prime
While the quote was...nice? At the time I couldn't help but be a bit scared that an adult...who by the way is raising at least one child to be a productive member of society...thought so much of the Transformers movies that he ordered a "Bumblebee" colored SUV and then thought "NO! That's not enough! I want a quote by Optimus Prime on the back window!".
I had wondered if when this family gets in the car, did the parents say:
Transform and roll out!
It bothered me that someone had come to the conclusion that a movie quote was so awe inspiring that it belonged on their car. Not just as a bumper sticker, but meticulously placed in lettering at the bottom of the back window? I had to admit I was curious about what their house was like. Of course they'd have the full collection of the movies, but did they have a room devoted to Transformers?
I have my favorite quotes. I've mentioned before the Shirley MacLaine quote:
The person who knows how to laugh at himself will never cease to be amused.
I like Teddy Roosevelt's quote:
It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.
I also follow the Dalai Lama on Twitter. One I really liked recently was:
It is vital that when educating our children’s brains that we do not neglect to educate their hearts.
I think these are all wonderful quotes. But, you know, the important word I finally realized that I needed to focus on in that sentence is 'I'. The world is made up of individuals. That's a good thing! Yes, I didn't get it. It seemed kind of 'youthful' for a parent, but I'm an older parent ! There's a good chance those Transformer parents could be young enough to be MY child! Yikes!
Plus I can't say I haven't been influenced by a movie or song. I tried to teach myself Italian after seeing "Only You", and there was a time not so long ago that I felt a song by Dusty Springfield named "Wishin' and Hopin'" was a good way to win a man. I felt by being what I thought he wanted me to be and only focus on his likes and dislikes instead of who I really was I could "win" his attention:
...Show him that you care, just for him. Do the things that he likes to do. Wear your hair just for him, 'Cause you won't get him Thinkin' and a prayin',Wishin' and a hopin'...
What I learned this week can be summed up in another old quote:
Whatever floats your boat.
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