Storiesonline.net ------- Billy Becomes Bill by Lee Smith Copyright© 2009 by Lee Smith ------- Description: Billy goes to his father claiming he's old enough to choose how he wants to be called. His father helps him on his road to adulthood. Codes: true ------- Billy was concerned and very self-conscious. He had entered what he felt was the beginning of becoming a man. His body was developing, his voice was cracking and, down below, he was growing an erection whether he wanted to or not. He was also a little confused. His emotions were in turmoil. One minute he was happy and cheerful and the next he was suddenly angry and sullen. The problem was he had no idea why the wild emotional swings. Frankly, he was confused. Thoroughly and completely confused. Therefore, he did what he had always done when he didn't understand something. He went to see his dad. "Dad, got a question." "Sure. What can I do for you? His father asked. "Well..." Suddenly, Billy was worried and uncertain. He began to stutter. "Um, well, I ... I ... I, well, um..." Billy's Dad was slightly taken aback. His son had never been this nervous before. "Son, Son. Relax, take a deep breath and start slow. I can't think of anything we can't deal with. Take a deep breath and try again." "God, this is embarrassing. Look dad, I know I'm growing up and am probably in puberty but I can't figure out why I'm going from happy to sad to angry all in about 10 seconds. What the heck is going on?" "Son, you got it right the first time. Puberty has struck you big time. You are growing up. One of the things that happen to us when we grow is puberty. I know you know that." "Yeah. We went through that before plus I got it in health class too." "Good. One part of growing up, as you know, is the onslaught of hormones. Unfortunately, not many teachers are willing to talk about the emotional strain of those hormones." Billy had a confused look on his face. "Emotional strain? What does that mean?" "Well," his dad continued, "your hormones are not only causing changes in your body, they're also affecting the way your mind works. That is causing your brain to become confused at times and your emotions start to jump around out of control." "Is there anything I can do about it? It's driving me nuts," Billy asked. "Frankly son, there's not much I know of you can do except realize it and try to slow down a little." Billy suddenly jumped in and said, "Slow down? What does slowing down have to do with it?" "Just like right there. Instead of forcing your brain and mouth to slow down so you would have a chance to think a bit before responding you started to get a bit angry. Slowing your reactions a little will help." "Oh. Sorry. I think I can see what you're saying." Billy thought for a second or two. "I'll try." "Can't ask for much more," his father said. "Keep it in mind and be willing to say you're sorry when it sneaks up and attacks you. Generally all anyone can do is try his best." "Thanks Dad. I think I'll go to my room and play on the computer a bit." "You're welcome son." Life, as always, moves on. Billy's life was no exception. A few weeks passed before Billy approached his father once again. "Hi Dad." "Hi Billy. What can I do for you this fine day?" "I have a favor to ask," Billy said. "Oh?" "Yeah. I was hoping, since I'm growing up we could change from Billy to Bill. Billy seems awfully juvenile I think." "So, you are of the opinion you are becoming a man, huh?" Billy's dad asked. "Well, I know I'm not there yet, but, yes I do. At least, I think I'm old enough to be able to decide what I want to be called." "Hmmmmmmmm. Actually, I agree. It'll be hard as your mother and I have been in the habit of referring to you as Billy but we'll eventually get used to it." "Thanks Dad. I really appreciate it." "No problem Bill." A few days later Bill and his parents were watching the evening news. One story in particular caught Bill's attention. According to the newscaster a departing CEO of a failing company was receiving a departing bonus in excess of 5 million dollars. Bill watched and listened with a growing sense in incredulity. "Dad, why does that guy get that kind of money when he almost took the company into bankruptcy? That doesn't make any sense at all." His dad looked at him, nodded his head and said, "You are exactly correct Billy, er, Bill. It doesn't make any sense at all. Unfortunately, it is a sign of the way things are." "Huh? What does that mean?" "Ok. Look. These characters that get hired as CEO's and other top officer positions actually go through the same process professional athletes and entertainers go through. They have 'agents' to represent them and bargain for the best deal possible. A departing bonus, or, as they are sometimes known, a separation bonus, is, many times, part of the deal." "Do you mean they get this bonus no matter how they perform?' "Unless the company is smart enough to put in performance standards that's pretty much how it works," his father answered. "Man," Bill softly responded, "what a deal. Doesn't matter how bad a job you do you still get paid money like that. Whew!!" "Well, that's not always the case," his dad said. "Many times companies put in clauses that cut the separation bonus if the individual's performance doesn't meet a certain set of objectives. Some of the smarter companies refuse to set these ridiculous bonuses. But, some, on the other hand, seem to get suckered into committing to really stupid things like guaranteeing pay for five years at a set rate whether the person is there or not. Other companies agree to things even more stupid than that." "Like what?" Bill asked. "Oh, let's see. One I heard about guaranteed lifetime medical care for the CEO and his immediate family. The big problem came when the CEO left and claimed the medical care for his wife, sons, daughters, their wives, husbands and their children. The company was totally screwed because they didn't define what they meant when they said 'immediate family'. It took a year or two and a court ruling to finally get that straightened out. Another company I heard about promised the CEO a Villa in Italy as part of his bonus but didn't define how big the Villa would be. That took another court case and another couple of years. In both cases the company was out hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees let alone the outlandish salaries they were paying. Stupid things like that." "Wow. You would think these companies would be smarter than that," Bill said. "Yep, you would, wouldn't you?" "I don't understand. Why would companies do something like that and be so stupid?" "Frankly, Bill, I don't know. I have a couple of theories but I certainly can't prove them." "Well, now you've got me curious. What are some of your theories?" "OK, just remember, you asked for it. "The first thing I blame is the move from something I have heard called enlightened self-interest. Basically, that's where people operate in ways that try to insure everyone comes out ahead." "Uh, dad. A little more explanation please." "OK. How about this? A business owner is making $500,000 a year from his business but is paying his help minimum wages. It seems to me the business owner is ignoring the needs of his employees in order to further his own well-being. Plus, why does the business owner think his employees are going to be loyal when he pays them such terrible wages? Or, how about a union that strikes for a deal that insures several of their members will be laid-off because the business can't afford to pay what the union is asking for. In that case, the union wins with higher wages but the business and some of the workers lose. In both examples, one party was not working with everybody's welfare in mind. As far as I can see, greed was the defining factor, not trying to find a solution that is good for everyone. It's the same thing with these CEO's we're talking about. The CEO's are trying to get the most they can for themselves. The agents are working hard to get the best deal they can for their client because the agent get a percentage final agreement. The companies go along with these ridiculous demands because they are planning on raising their prices to the consumer to pay for these ridiculous agreements. "Guess who is ultimately going to have to pay some of these unbelievably outlandish agreements. The one who, in the long run, pays for absolutely everything in this country. The consumer. The consumer is the one who loses because no-body is keeping what is good for the consumer in mind when they made these deals. "Does that help?" "Uh, I think so," Bill said. I'm, pretty sure I followed most of that." "Good. Ready for some more?" "Well, I think so," Bill nodded his head. "OK, try this for size. It is my firm belief the world has gotten away from some sound, proven and quite fundamental truths and, because of that, has gotten itself into a very large pile of the end product of the eating process of a bull. As I'm pretty sure you've heard me say this but I will say it again, I am a firm believer in the idea that with responsibility comes an equal amount of accountability. With great responsibility comes an equally great amount of accountability." "Yeah, I've heard something like that said many times when you and I have talked," Bill agreed. "Good, but, at the same time, I'm pretty sure I haven't given you the whole spiel, so here it is in it's entirety; "Freedom equals responsibility. Responsibility equals accountability. Remove or reduce one from the above equation and you get disaster." Bill's dad stopped there and looked at his young son. It was obvious to his father that Bill was thinking about what had been said. After what seemed like a couple of minutes Bill looked at his father. "I think I understand. Are you saying if someone does something they are responsible for the results and they should be rewarded or punished, depending on those results?" "Very good Bill." His father felt a great deal of pride in his young son. He knew this was a very adult concept he was passing on to his son. To see and hear the confirmation his Son had a fairly good comprehension of this concept was heart warming to say the least. "Son, can you give me an example of what I am saying?" "Oh sure Dad. If someone decides to rob a store then they're responsible for that action and should be held accountable for that action." "Ok, that works. What about if you are playing with your friends, throwing a ball back and forth and your friend misses and the ball breaks someone's window? What then?" "Well, according to what you said I would be responsible for breaking the window and should pay for getting it fixed but that doesn't seem fair. Shouldn't both of us be responsible, not just me?" "I can see how you would feel that way. It seems to me how your friends acted would tell you a lot about how responsible they are wouldn't it?" Bill's dad asked. "Well yeah. I guess I can see that." "Ok, here's another example. Let's say you were talking to A at your school. During the conversation you tell A another person, named B, had told a lie about them which had gotten A in trouble. Now, finally learning B had told a lie, A then went to B and hit him or her in the nose. As a result of hitting B in the nose, A was suspended from school and flunked a class because they weren't there to take the final test. What responsibility would you have in a case like that?" Bill's dad leaned back in his chair and allowed his son time to think about that situation. After a short time Bill responded. "Dad, I think I would be responsible but I can't think how I would be held accountable." "I agree son. That's a hard one because you are not directly involved in the action so to speak. In a case like that I doubt you would be punished for what you did but, at the same time, I feel you should hold yourself accountable because what you did sparked the final confrontation. Maybe you would decide to go to A, talk about how you are partly responsible for what happened and try to help them get rid of that F they got. "Bill, this is a tough thing to learn but I'm going to lay it on you anyway. It's something I would like you to think very hard on before we talk any more. "I believe adulthood is not a case of age like our society currently views adulthood. It seems rather silly for a society to treat someone who is mentally challenged and unable to work or support themselves as an adult and, at the same time, treat a 16 year old who is working full time plus going to school as a juvenile. That methodology is for convenience sake and has little to no bearing on whether a person is or is not an adult. "P. J. O'Rourke, a well-known satirist once wrote, 'There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences. "Adulthood is achieved when an individual comes to the conclusion they not only want but almost demand they be held responsible for their actions, thoughts and deeds. Any person who is not willing to be held responsible is not, and never will be, an adult. " Bill's dad stopped there and waited. Suddenly, Bill realized his dad had stopped speaking and was sitting quietly in his chair. "So, what you're saying is those CEO's we were talking about got the damn well please part down pat but skipped the duty part?" His father started laughing and kept laughing for a short time. Finally, he looked at his son with a look of pride. "Son, you are 100% correct." ------- The End ------- Posted: 2009-01-03 ------- http://storiesonline.net/ -------