Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Uh oh...didn't see that comin'.

Its so interesting to watch how quickly peoples reactions change in a given situation. People will go from laughing hysterically to being very concerned or angry. Most times this occurs because the severity of the situation is not understood initially, and once it is understood it is seen in a completely different light. Now this picture on the left describes this to some extent. This young child probably thought it would be funny to sneak and get a cookie right before dinner time. Now look more closely at his face. He knows hes been caught. Mommy always said not to spoil your dinner, and there he was headed to time out for sure. he might have laughed about getting away with his dirty deed for days on end, and who knows, maybe even tried it again. But in an instant all this came crumbling down. He was in trouble, and the situation was much more serious. OK, so I get this is a pretty poor example. You may not be convinced. Tell me you're not a believer after this.

A friend of mine told me this story: "I was walking back to Shreve one night and this boy rode past me on his bike eating a bag of Doritos". (talented right) "Well all of a sudden he wiped out and was lying on the ground" (This is where we laugh; it's what he gets for trying to multi-task while operating a moving vehicle.) "Then i realized he was moving. I went over there and he was seizing. He had fallen off his bike because he had a seizure. not only was he seizing, but he was also choking on a Dorito." (If you don't want anymore details skip to the next paragraph) "He was turning blue, and I knew that there was nothing anyone can do for someone who is having a seizure. It has to run its course. I called 911, and they took care of it from there." Now for all of you that are terrified, this multi-tasker did live.

Now as we can notice in the previous paragraph, a seemingly hilarious situation can turn very serious and dangerous once we realize the severity of the given situation. Not all of these situations are life and death. Some are as simple as getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar to getting caught with some stolen property that you thought would make a funny addition to your room. These situations occur all the time. Let's have another example.

Last night Cary had a fire alarm go off, meaning the fire department and police all showed up. (You think you know where this story is going...you have no idea.) After inspection of the facility the fire department turned off the alarm and allowed everyone entrance. Of course their job is not finished. They have to stay and make sure everything is under control and inspect other causes for the alarm. (Stop trying to guess the ending...you can't.)

I was back in my room nice and cozy eating some easy mac with a buddy when to more guys from the floor walked in all giggly. One of them is holding a garbage bag with a mystery object inside. We closed the door all curious as to what was so funny. We open the bag and in it lies a nifty little hat. Oh it's not just a hat; it's a firefighters helmet. (Told ya you wouldn't see that coming.) We all started cracking up. I mean come on it's not everyday you have a piece of your age 5 dream job sitting in front of you. We played with the light and eventually it was time for bed, so I kicked everyone out of my room. If only that was the end.

Upon walking out of the room, we realize that the RA's are on the look out for a fire fighter's helmet. Ahhhhh....complete 180. This is no longer funny. This is serious. In case you didn't know, stealing a fire fighter's helmet is stealing from the government. They don't take that lightly. Well it didn't take long for the police to show up fine the suspects. They were caught, brought in for a nice talk, and were given a bed for the night. I think you know what I mean.

What's funny one minuet comes completely retarded the next. Everyone who wasn't directly involved but laughed originally are now experts on crimes and the stupidity of the other individuals. It is just so interesting how quickly people change sides and how they view a situation. If you ever find yourself in a "funny" situation make sure to take the time to analyze whether that situation is truly hilarious, or a mistake waiting to happen.

3 comments:

  1. I loved this post; I know what you are talking about. I was actually laughing at the story the whole time I was reading it and then when the bad parts came I sympathized with them. One thing can be funny in the beginning and the next everything becomes serious.
    During the summer I work as a lifeguard at a scout camp. I guy I worked with was hypoglycemic, and liked to make jokes about having seizures. We all laughed with him because we knew he know how to take care of things. One day he was actually having a seizure, inside of the pool. We all took it as a joke at first but then it became apparent he was in trouble. I jumped into the water and pulled him out, it is a lot more difficult than you would think. We got him on the deck and away from the water. He ended up being okay but if it was not for fast thinking there is a good possibility he wouldn’t be here.

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  2. As always you make a very valid point. Even something as simple as seeing someone wipe out on a bike could become something much more dangerous than a mere accident. I can't believe that actually happened, how horrid.
    I like how you gave many different example of how things seem worth it (like the cookie jar) but can go terribly wrong (like being arrested). Your examples show that these sort of things can happen to anyone, not just those who are trying to get away with something they shouldn't or pull a joke.

    You always do a good job of getting your points across while keeping the blog entertaining. Makes for an enjoyable read.

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  3. ppl_person_456:

    We should definetly swap lifeguard stories sometime...Im sure we could talk for hours. I've been a lifeguard and now a lifeguard superisor for a 3 years at a local waterpark back home. Its a crazy job, but I love every minute.

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