Nap Time Rocks!

Scene 1. House Int. PM.

It’s 7pm and mommy had just come from work. Mia is happily bouncing up and down, not necessarily to the tune of The Mickey Mouse Club House’s theme song. She lights up when she sees mommy come through the door and calls her for a kiss, and yells excitedly, “Mommy!”.

Mommy plops down on the couch in front of the TV and sings along to Mickey’s Hotdog tune. Sound fades out as Mickey says goodbye and is replaced by a VO. Mia waves goodbye back.

“Up next: learn new words in Word World!”

Mommy gets excited about what new word she and Mia will learn that night. Happy songs play in the background.

Cut to scene 2 with cable guy replacing the Sky Cable unit. Saturday, AM. House Int.

“Huh, walang Playhouse Disney ang Gold?” (Huh, there’s no Playhouse Disney in the Gold plan?”)

“Sorry ho ma’am, pang-Platinum namin yun eh.” (Sorry ma’am, but that’s for our Platinum subscribers.”

What the hell? mommy thinks.

“Nye, wala ng papanoorin si Mia.” To Mia, “Mia, no more Tigger and Pooh, no more Pocoyo!”

Mia, as young as she is, just stares at mommy with her puppy-dog eyes and says, “Momo Pooh!” (No more Pooh!) and waves her hands as if indicating the loss.

Mommy continues to rant while the cable guy is busy, or pretending to be, writing on his official receipt. Then after some silence,

“Ma’am, kung gusto niyo po, lagyan kita ng Playhouse Disney.” (Ma’am, if you want, I can program Playhouse Disney for you.”

“Ah… Pwede yun no?” (That’s possible, huh?) Of course, mommy already knows that it wasn’t going to be legal. “So, magkano naman yun?” Meaning, how much will be her ‘lagay’ (or, bribe).

“Eh itatanong ko lang po dun sa kasama ko.” (I’ll just ask the other cable guy). He pauses from his writing and asks to be excused for a while, to supposedly ‘consult’ with his ‘colleague’.

Cut to scene 3, CU of mommy thinking very hard.

Mommy is already doubtful whether she should accept the cable guy’s offer. It was a very tempting one, but illegal, nonetheless. But there’s no doubt it was always being done. Still, she knew that wasn’t a factor.

She looks at her little girl playing with her toys and the TV. She knows how much Mia enjoys the shows on Playhouse Disney and more than that, she knows that they were more educational than most shows on TV. Practically more than all programs.

But she also knows that it was bad, tapping into a cable network without any legal connections. What would that say about her principles? What would Mia think when she finds out (eventually, she would, wouldn’t she)? What would happen if she gives in now, and she encounters a bigger dilemma in the future? Wouldn’t it make it easier to say yes again?

It was a dilemma, alright. She wants only the best for Mia and where she will be happier. But sometimes the end doesn’t necessarily justify the means.

Scene 4. House Int.

The cable guy comes back.

“Kuya, wag nalang. Magsu-subscribe nalang ako sa Platinum in the future pag may pera na ako.” (Never mind. I’ll just subscribe to Platinum in the future when I have the money.)

Mommy feels a bit bad that Mia’s Friends Tigger & Pooh won’t be around anymore to keep her company, but she’s also relieved she was able to say no to the temptation.

The cable guy and mommy signs off the deal, which was 100% legal, and he leaves.

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I know, some of you may think it’s an over reaction on my part to say no to the illegal connection, as if it doesn’t happen everyday. And I don’t mean just cable TVs. Corruption takes many forms but in the end it’s still wrong. How else in the world can we right a very big wrong, when in the simple things we cannot even be trusted?

This is where it starts, in the simple things. And as the Bible put it, “Anyone who can be trusted in little matters can also be trusted in important matters. But anyone who is dishonest in little matters will be dishonest in important matters.” (Luke 16:10)

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Photo courtesy of ©2004-2008 ~LORDNiTRONiC