Rule #444- Never buy a Tiger
In the isolation of COVID-19 pandemic Bobbi and I have found comfort in the soft glow of Netflix on our TV at night. Trolling through such solid entertainment as “Ozark” and “Better Call Saul” has made this period of limited outside contact tolerable at times. It has been a source of sanity at times when the world seems very insane. Thank you Netflix.
But then along came “Tiger King” and its cast of characters that has scared me of leaving my home bunker if these people are now roaming free and have become our new normal. Its watching the train wreak, knowing we should turn away from the carnage but being unable to do so. I got sucked in long before Joe’s rendition of “Kitty Kitty”, and like about 30 million other Americans binged watched the 7 episodes in one night.
But now having those 7 hour stolen from my life I have to ask myself .. ” what have I learned”, I need to share these insights with my children.
1.Never Buy a Tiger– I like many of you were shocked to learn that I could have bought a tiger for $2,000, $600 less than I spend on both Whiskey and Charley. As tempting as the deal may seem the “2 cat rule” criteria is amended in terms of size of cats, one tiger is enough to consider you have lost your mind.
2. Crazy is a gift that gives everyday- In watching Joe and crew find new ways of violating every social norm in each episode its teaches us the important lesson that crazy is a gift that keeps giving and giving. In life as we surround our selves with friends, the crazy ones generally just get more crazy. I’m sure when young Joe bought his first big cat some of his friends thought it was funny and quirky. But crazy stays crazy most of the time. There is a huge difference between being quirky and being crazy. Quirky is really getting into Chinese cooking or collecting coins, crazy is bringing wild animals into your home. There’s a big difference between quirky and crazy…quirky will make you smile, crazy will not. Run from crazy.
3. Freedom can be abused- The United States is a wonderful place where personal freedom is cherished as a gift from God, it is what makes us special as a people. You can start a business, be a vegan, worship chickens, protest any injustice or just choose to do nothing. Unfortunately in a world of freedom liberty is extended to the sane and the insane. The freedom that allows artists to express themselves is the same freedom that allows someone to own a tiger. Drawing the line in the sand between the sane and insane has always been a challenge for our country. I think its good that we try to error on the side of more freedom, rather than less. But the world’s common sense seems to get lost from time to rime… Joe has certainly missed the train to it. Knowing that when some one does something that is truly dangerous common sense should still take priority.
4. Read a book and take a walk- Covid and Netflix has made the crazy seem normal. We have to find a way to step away from the TV and get both distance and perspective – taking a hour walk in the woods does more for you that 100 hours of binge watching anything. We have to rediscover both quite and sanity.
Covid has really screwed with our perception of reality. We are afraid of people and viruses – and used Netflix, Amazon and the internet to hide from reality.
The Tiger King teaches us much, much of it is what not to become.
Stay safe Kids.