Better to be Ordinary

Better to be ordinary and work for a living

than act important and starve in the process.

Proverbs 12:9

Peter Potter was a smooth young man who did not do a whole lot of anything except smoke pot and deliver food.  One day out of the clear blue sky, he met the girl of his dreams, and after a very short whirlwind romance, he took the plunge and got hitched.  She had a regular job, producing a secure source of income for the fledgling family - an income he spent with alacrity.  He decided that he was worth far more than the life he was currently living, so he cleaned himself up and went out to find a lucrative job - preferably one where he could make loads of money with minimal effort.

His friend got him an interview with a store that rewarded good salesmen with big money, or so he was told.  He got the job and set about making the "big bucks" - which turned out to be not so big after all.  He needed a time piece in his new position, so prevailed on the wife to provide a very expensive watch (which she would pay for).  He needed better wheels to park in the store parking lot, so he prevailed on the wife to provide an appropriate status vehicle (also on her tab).  When the business did not bring the rewards he anticipated, he quit his job and went looking for bigger fish to fry.  Eventually he found another sales job that promised big commissions.  Unfortunately, that one didn't pan out either.  Amidst the sturm und drang of ever-increasing debt and decreasing care/concern for his relationships, he drove away his wife and alienated most of his friends.

He went to work in another town, but that didn't work out.  He went to work in another state, but that was just another pipe dream.  He wandered back to his home state, and moved to the town where his best friend was opening a business.  He tried to worm his way into management, then endeavored to become the over-all deal-maker by ousting his friend behind his back.  He is currently sofa-sleeping at someone's home, working (and scheming) at the new business, and turning everything he touches into dust.  Watching from a distance, I feel like grabbing him by the shoulders and saying, "Hey!  Work your way up from the bottom rung, one step at a time!"  Somehow, I don't think he would hear me.