Dave's story

This Dave guy had a really tough life. He was working as a weather report presenter in a local news channel. He was making pretty good money, good enough for him to call his career lucrative. Though, apart from the salary part, it was anything but lucrative. Not to mention, he had a really screwed up life- he was divorced, his kids were staying with his ex-wife and he had an ailing father to take care of.

Dave was often a victim of public anger. People would throw things on him on the road every time his weather predication went wrong. It happened almost every month, so much so that after some time he just stopped reacting to it. His father thought he was good for nothing. He thought Dave was not taking care of his children. His wife thought he was weird. His children never really thought anything about him.

Dave, on the other hand, was anything but casual. He was very caring towards his father. He would accompany his father to the doctor and make sure that he got all the medication he required. He wanted to start things again with his wife and even went to a family consultant, which somehow did not work. His children had their own set of problems which he tried to solve putting his best effort.

Dave was torn between his unsuccessful work and family life. Every step he took to make things better, backfired. Frustrated, though showing no sign of frustration, he lead his life as if nothing happened. He knew that his family was not really proud of all that was doing. He knew that he was considered a loser in the materialistic American world. But, he had a dream. He had a dream of making it big. He applied for a for a position in a national news channel that would give hem a million dollars in salary, respect, and yes, a sense of achievement. He got the job, finally.

Right when everything looked like going right, he was in a dilemma whether to stay back with his family which he loved so much or to relocate to New York for the new job. His kids did not want to relocate to New York. His ex-wife was planning to marry another guy. His father was about to die in a few days. It wasn’t an easy decision for him to make. He kept buying time from the people who offered him the job, but as days passed, it looked like he was not going to join them. The only dream he had nurtured amongst all the difficulties in life was about to break. At last it was quite certain that he was going to turn down the offer.

All this while, I wanted him to go to New York. I knew it was not easy for him but I wanted him to leave his personal life behind and start things again. I was sad that the job that was so important for him, that he got after so much of hard work, that could change his life, was right in his hand but he was almost throwing it away. I was sad that he was going to be another guy who would shatter his dreams at the cost of meaningless relationships. I was sad that probably life would not give him a second chance.

Guess what, at the last moment, he accepted the offer. He went to New York and made it big. His ex wife got married to another guy, his father died, his children stayed back with their mom. Here in New York, he was alone but happy. After all, he achieved the American Dream of being successful in life.

It’s always better to be happy alone than be sad in a crowd. Relationships are meant to push you up, the moment they try to pull you down, you must realize that there is something wrong. Moreover, you must realize that emotional and material happiness can co-exist but if you have to make a choice, remember, emotions change, materials do not. It is always great to be with your loved ones, but if things don’t work, move on. If you have a dream, do not let any emotional obstacle stop you from achieving it. We can all be like Dave- though alone, happy. By the way, Dave is the guy from The Weather Man, a movie I saw a few days back.