The Old Man And The Deficiency

The old man thought about the boy for a few long seconds and wondered just what it would take to reach him. He felt inadequate for the job at hand, though there was nothing he wanted more than to clearly get his point across, for his words to really sink in.

Somehow though, he knew his best efforts would not succeed. The boy was too much like himself. He saw that everyday - the lack of focus, the rash impulsiveness, even the inability to finish any one task without having to engage himself in another project. Like himself, the boy was prone to distraction.

It was frustrating to watch the boy stumble along everyday, blindly following the path of least resistance without making an effort to attempt to better himself or better his chances in life.

The boy had no plan, and worst yet, no desire to draw up a plan. He was content to take whatever came his way and either try to deal with it or dodge it, whatever was easiest. The boy didn't have it in him to make choices that might be tough at first but beneficial in the long run.

Just like the old man had been. Oblivious to the long term consequences of inaction, of avoiding the tough  decisions, of always choosing the downhill route. 

The old man wanted to spare the boy the costly mistakes he had made, he wanted to convey to the boy the necessity of preparing for lean times, of learning to delay gratification, of being completely responsible for not only his actions, but for his reactions to the actions of others.

The boy was not without intelligence, not without common sense. It was maturity he seemed to lack, emotional maturity. The boy indulged his every whim without regard for consequence, and seeing that made the old man cringe.

For that had been the way of the old man. Everyday the old man saw himself in the boy, and everyday he felt guiltier and guiltier for not being able to break the chain. 

Not a day passed when the old man did not look at the people he knew who were successful, the ones who had finished college and worked at jobs they liked if not outright loved, or had diligently pursued passions that had ultimately led to tangible, beneficial achievement.

He wondered what it was these people were taught by their parents, and how those parents had been able to adequately convey those lessons to them. 

The old man felt frustrated by his lack of knowledge. He wanted so much for the boy, so much more than he himself had ever had. He wanted the boy to be successful and happy and free from doubt and the crippling indecision that came with it.

The old man took another long draw off his beer and looked down the bar at the woman sitting near the counter-top video game. He decided to stop dwelling on the situation with the boy and walk down to the game console and see if he could strike up a conversation with the woman. She looked pleasant enough.