Joe, sitting relaxed on the front porch of Baker’s aunt’s house, rocking the chair ever so slowly, watched as Baker pulled recklessly into the driveway.
Stopping his truck abruptly, a small cloud of dust parsed from beneath the truck as the brakes squealed. Getting out, Baker slammed the truck door.
Joe, without words or question, just watched.
Removing his hat and swathing his hair back as he walked to the porch, the look on Baker’s face said it all… life at this moment is not good.
“This is fucked up Joe! No one will hire me. I can’t get a job to save my life.”
Joe remained silent as he watched Baker’s face contort from his internal anger.
“Now what do I do? My aunt comes home in a couple weeks, and I don’t have any work to make the money to fix the things she gave me money for to fix.”
Baker heard Joe’s silence, and it threw him into an angrier tone. Opening his truck door once again, Baker slammed it to make a point… he’s fit to be tied with frustration.
“How am I going to make money if no one will hire me? Huh? Joe!”
Joe remaining silent infuriated Baker even more.
“You told me to go get a job and I tried… but I can’t. It’s like they take one look at me and… and they see something I don’t. It’s like I scare them. Like I’m too much for them to handle. Is that what I am Joe? Too much for people to handle?”
A smirk of a smile crossed Joe’s lips. “You tell me Baker… are you too much for “them” to handle? Whomever “them” is?”
“Them” is the bosses of the jobs I went to interview for.”
“What type of jobs did you interview for?”
Baker looked at Joe as if he hadn’t been in the conversation earlier when Baker told Joe about the interviews.
“What do you mean, what types of jobs did I interview for? I told you who I was interviewing with… the cashier job at the mart downtown and the delivery for the auto parts store. How do you not remember the conversation from earlier?”
“Oh, I remember the conversation, and I also remember thinking that you weren’t fit for those types of jobs. Yeah… I think they saw you coming… probably right as you walked in the door.”
“What are you saying… they judged me on my looks? Because I’m big and burley… strong like an ox… that I can’t do those types of jobs? Is that what you’re saying, Joe?”
“I wouldn’t hire you for those jobs. Those people probably did see you coming… and maybe you were intimidating or would be in those positions. Who truly knows?”
“I’m still a people person. I could do those jobs.”
“Let me ask you Baker… why are you looking for a job?”
“Didn’t you tell me to find some work?”
“I did, but that doesn’t mean I told you to get a job for someone else.”
Baker came to sit on the porch in the rocking chair beside Joe.
“Life just keeps getting harder and harder Joe. Issues just keep piling up and I feel like I’m getting in too deep… I’m overwhelmed.”
Joe listened as Baker wiped his face of frustration and just shook his head.
“Life is not that complicated if you stop and truly think things through, Baker.”
“I don’t have the solutions to all of my problems, Joe. As I said… I’m overwhelmed.”
Joe let out a sigh and looked to Baker… “You know I don’t tell people how to solve their issues, but I can make suggestions, and right now, I would tell you to go get a pen and some paper.”
“What for?”
Joe just nodded… “Pen… paper.”
Baker looked at Joe and hesitated, then walked into the house to retrieve pen and paper.
Sitting back in the rocker, He looked at Joe… “Now what?”
“You tell me. You said you had some issues.”
“I do… too many.” Baker replied.
Joe looked down at the tablet of paper… “I don’t see a list of “problems,” but I do see an empty sheet of paper. Hard to hit a target if you can’t truly see it plain as day.”
Like a deer in the headlight, Baker stared at Joe… who looked down at the empty pad of paper.
“If it were my list… I would start with 1-10.” Joe smiled.
Baker sat looking at the paper and it took a moment, but he jotted down 1, 2, 3, 4, … 10.
Taking a deep breath, he asked himself… “What are my problems?”
- I’m down to my last $200
- I am in credit card debt
- I have no job that brings in money
- My car breaks down too often
- I’m behind on rent for my aunt
- I promised to repair the shed for my aunt, but I spent the money
- The house is a mess: dishes, dirty clothes, the lawn needs to be cut
- I argue with my ex too much and I’m late on child support
- I don’t see my son enough, so my relationship is strained
- The more I try to handle things the deeper I seem to sink
Joe looked at Baker for a moment… “You don’t have to stop at ten if you have more… just so you know.”
Baker looked at Joe as in… gee thanks Joe.
“How am I going to handle all of these problems?”
Joe smiled… “And that is the next step. You have a list that could be put in an order from easiest to hardest to solve. Me personally, I always started with the easiest because then I saw some accomplishment and it motivated me to continue.”
“You mean you’ve done this? Made your own list?” Baker asked with a smile.
“Even I have had problems, Baker. I don’t have them often, but when I do, I use this same simple method. So… what are you going to tackle first? Look at your list and analyze it… see if you have any patterns?”
Baker looked at his list… “Patterns? Hmm… money. I have an issue with money… in debt, almost completely broke. I also have a communication problem with my ex and a lack of with my son.”
“Can I ask you something, Joe?… Is the house being a mess a subliminal message that I am out of alignment with my life?”
“Now you’re catching on, Baker. That’s a good catch.”
“I’m going to clean the house. It’s the easiest place to start and where I will get instant gratification to motivate me. Where in the house would you start if you were me?”
“If I were you… I would throw the clothes in the washer and then start washing dishes so those flies hovering over the sink don’t have anything to keep their interest.”
“Yeah… dishes wouldn’t be piling up if my aunt were home.”
“Maybe that, too, is a sign you are depending way too heavily on her… instead of being a man and handling life as it goes.”
“Ouch!”
“You have your list. Start handling it.”
“What are you going to do, Joe?”
“I’m going to ride my bike to the library and read.”
“You’re not going to help me? At least help clean the house.”
“Baker… you created the mess… if I weren’t in the picture, who must deal with the list… the mess?”
Drawing in a much needed breath… “I would.”
“Be a man… step up your game. Deal with your list and when I get back, we can talk about me telling you to “get some work”… not “get a job.”
The End
Solving one’s issues or day-to-day problems is really as simple as in the story. Follow along as Baker and Joe handle more of life and keep moving Baker to a stronger and more stable position.
The character, Joe, can be found in a few of Author Jeff Scott’s books, such as, Who Will Be My Judas?, and a cameo in The Palendrone.