You are never out of options. There is always something you can do to be helpful and make life just a little bit more manageable for someone else.
There is something very endearing about someone who is willing to let their guard down for the sake of their friend.
Our friend Gary is in the hospital recovering from a major surgery when suddenly a man dressed as a unicorn with a sign reading, “Free Papa G” appears outside of his window. The gentleman holding the sign is Earl Pistone.
Earl Pistone is a man’s man- his mancabulary consists of the typical manwords like: “Fuck”, “Beer”, “Shit”, “Bacon”, “BBQ”, “Burgers”, and “Back squats”. He is a simple dude who says very little and makes his living by locking up the bad guys. I don’t know Earl very well but I know this:
If the FBI knocked on my door and told me they were looking for a man dressed as a unicorn, my first response would be….”It’s not Earl Pistone. There are a lot of people that it might be; Earl is not one of them.”
However, Earl’s friend was sick and he didn’t know what to do. Right about the time that he figured that he was out of ideas, he decided to implement the unicorn option.
The unicorn option is a bold move. Very few people have the backbone to perform it in its entirety. But as we all know, drastic situations call for drastic measures.
I would have overthunk the situation. I would have managed to make it all about me. I would have concerned myself with what people thought:
Would I look like a fool?
Would no one laugh?
Would people think I am stupid?
I am sure that those things crossed Earl’s mind but at the end of the day, it wasn’t about Earl. This was about his friend, Gary, and if anyone appreciates stupidity and someone being willing to make someone smile at the risk of acting a little silly…it’s Papa G Cail.
Not only did Gary’s camp get a kick out of Earl’s antics but the entire hospital did, we all did. Families of different patients were pulling Earl into their rooms just to steal a smile from their sick loved one. It just makes folks smile…and you can’t have too much of that.
I think it’s interesting to see what “being manly” looks like as I get older and mortality enters my daily conscious. When at one point in time, being a man meant keeping my guard up and never letting anyone see through my hardened shell, and now, being a man consists of knowing that there is nothing to guard so there is no need to burden myself with a shell.
Sometimes, when you feel you have no other options, the only option is the unicorn option.
Peace, Love, and all things Beef related,
Beefcake