The Big Picture Book 1 Chapter 2

Chapter Intro

The road to Bill's recovery includes one more day.  I can't remember the exact date, so I'll make it up.  After this chapter, I'll be writing one day at a time beginning with January 11^th, 1978.

Uncle John

December 10, 1977

"Mom, I need some advice," stated Bill.  "I need some fatherly advice and I don't feel comfortable talking to my father about it.  Who could I talk to?"

"You can talk to your Uncle John. (John Marshall Macdonald IV) I bet he can help you out."  Bill’s mom replied.  'Nothing else has worked.  God knows we've tried,' she further considered.

"I think Uncle John would make a good choice.  Could you make arrangements for me to meet with him?"

Bill found himself without any options left.  Officially a high school dropout, he needed to get his life in order.  No longer working at the job that had supplied him with a means of controlling his own life, he carefully considered his next move.  Bill had a lot of respect for his Uncle John.  His Uncle John was the oldest of his uncles, and had always treated Bill kindly.  His Uncle John was a high school principal.

His mom made the necessary phone calls and a meeting was arranged.  It was decided that Bill could drive down to Vicksburg, Michigan, the following weekend.  The longest drive Bill had ever been on was a few hours.  Bill and his mom decided he'd stay overnight at his uncle’s.

December 13th 1977

During the three-hour drive to his uncle's house Bill thought to himself, 'My dad is such a jerk.  I don't understand why he's on my case all the time.  Doesn’t he realize that I'm 18 and I can do I want?  I just need to find a way to pay for it.  I wish he would have divorced my mom a year ago like he said he was going to!  I just need to find a full-time cooking job someplace.  I bet I could even stay with Pop's if I had to, even though Mike will rag (tease) on me about it forever.  My mom should just put her foot down and throw my dad out.'

In Bill's confused mind he actually believed what he was thinking.  The trip from Saginaw to Lansing was uneventful.  Bill stopped and got lunch at the local restaurant.  Then Bill drove the rest of the distance between Lansing and Vicksburg.  Bill smoked a little bit of pot on the way down.  That added to his confused thinking.  After arriving at his uncle’s house he immediately sat down with him.

"Uncle John?  I need advice!"

"The first thing you need to do, Bill, is set a goal.  You have to make sure the goal is realistic.  For example, you'll never be an NBA basketball star.  You'll never be an NFL star.  You have to set goals you’re capable of reaching.  The next thing you need to do is to work toward your goals.  For example if you decide you want to be an auto mechanic you have to go to a school to learn the basics.  This is true of most trades, you have to go to trade school.  Some jobs can be learned while you're doing them.”

“I’m using jobs as an example but goal setting can be applied to every aspect of your life.  There are two types of goals: long-term and short-term goals.   A short-term goal could be what are you going to do next week.  A long-term goal could be what are you going to do next year.  There are several things you need to know about setting goals besides setting realistic goals.  First, you need to tell someone about your goal without bragging.  How can you brag about something you haven’t done yet?  Second, and perhaps most important, when you set a goal you need to the best of your ability complete your goal or else everyone will consider you a quitter.  Sometimes you have to set a bunch of short-term goals in order to achieve one long-term goal.  Did you know when I was just a few years older than you I played minor league baseball despite the fact that my left leg is 1 and one half inches shorter than the other?  (My Uncle John got run over by a truck when he was a boy.)

“No, I didn’t know that.”

“I was never good enough to play in the major leagues but I at least tried to achieve my goal.”  Bill’s uncle replied.  “Did you know that when I was a few years older than you I was a stock car driver?”

“No, I never heard that one either, I bet Granddad had a fit!” 

“That’s beside the point.  The point is I set a goal and I achieved it.  Then I found out that I made the wrong choice and made other goals.  I can tell you that one of the best feelings you will ever feel is to achieve a long-term goal.  You need to plan your work and work your plan.  A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder – you’re going to end up on the rocks. 

“I’m not saying that you can’t have fun along the way.  I sure did!  There is a time and a place for everything.  You can drink yourself drunk as long as you have done everything that you need to do first.  There are steps that you must take in order to achieve any goal.  There is a time and place to work on each goal.  Let me try to give you an idea of what I’m talking about.

“If you are in law school with the goal of becoming a lawyer it would be helpful if you had a part time job in a law office someplace.  If you really want to be a lawyer it would be helpful for both your short and long-term goals if you had a job already when you graduate.  It doesn’t do any good to hitch a horse behind the cart.  There are some goals that can’t be achieved until other goals have been done first - or at the same time.  Otherwise you are spinning your wheels.  Bill, you need to answer some questions - not for me - or for your parents - but for yourself.  What am I going to be doing a week from now?  What am I going to be doing a month from now?  What am I going to be doing a year from now?  What am I going to be doing 5 years from now?”

Bill was highly impressed with not only the content of what his uncle said but also the way it was presented.  It was the first time Bill could ever remember someone talking to him like he was a man.   After thinking about what his uncle had told him Bill decided to set a goal – one that his dad might even agree with.  He decided to join the Navy.  He thought he was setting a goal that would help him with his problems.  But in truth he was still running away from his problems!