I used to love “Goofus and Gallant” but then I would root for Gallant. Gallant was always polite, did the right thing and I guess had great hygiene. Goofus was a rude boy, who would step on your toes just for being in the same room as him. I wanted to be good just like Gallant, now I’m just me.
I think we need role models every now then for the simplest of tasks. The creative exercise for this week is to come up with your own Goofus and Gallant characters for your particular job or hobby.
- Give an example of something each would do in the same situation.
- One does it right and one does it wrong.
- Have Fun!
Bonus: Send an illustration with your samples. Use stick figures.
Annoya and Realista
Annoya is a working mother. She not only has a clean, well decorated home, but her yard is impeccable, too. Her children are polite and well groomed. They participate in all the “respected” sports: baseball, soccer, ballet. She drives a four door sedan. Her meals represent all four food groups. Her husband has his MBA and works at a large firm in the city that is exactly a 30 minute commute from their colonial style home. She, too, is educated and employed gainfully. She’s on the PTO and volunteers in her free time. She gets 30 minutes of heart healthy exercise per day and sleeps 7 hours exactly.
Realista is divorced and shares custody of her 3 children with their father (who lives far too close to her, if you ask her opinion.) She drives a car that is 5 years past it’s prime and in need of some work (which she ignores in hopes it will go away.) She works full time and struggles to make it home in time to prepare a meal, but often feeds her children sandwiches or cereal for dinner. She avoids all contact with the ladies from the PTO lest they ask her to volunteer for something. A good week is one when no child has detention and she actually gets all children to their scheduled evening activities of therapy, kick boxing and electric guitar lessons. Her profile on Match.com lists her as being active (though she never does anything other than drive, work, sleep) and looking for a committed relationship (though, through therapy she realizes that she actually hates men.)
by DeAnna
These are some responses I received:
Good wife vs. Bad Wife
The “good” wife asks for permission…boring!
The “bad” wife asks for forgiveness, because it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, and you get what you want!
-by Maggie
These are some responses I received:
Excitra vs Enchantra
Excitra – what a woman! She will go anywhere- travels the unknown (has a reservation to go to the moon), experiences life as life should be experienced – with a childlike approach innocent, daring, adventurous, and loads of fun! She doesn’t care what she says or who she says it to, has a “whatever” attitude, nothing bothers her, she’s free! (although she would only go off a cliff with 4 people in an ATV).
Enchantra – the charming one. She would never take a chance of trying anything new, she never travels- she stays in her perfect home in her perfect neighborhood (I think she’s a relative of Realista) everything in it’s place – a little Feng Shui going on if you know what I mean, is endearing to all she meets, tiptoes through life with never experiencing much of anything. (She would go off a cliff with directions, with her seat belt on and only 1 adult passenger)
-by Deborah
These are some responses I received:
Off-Nice vs Off-Icky
Off-Nice in his crisp, freshly pressed shirt, deftly hops from his ergonomically correct work station because it’s lunchtime!
He steps smartly into the kitchen with his eco-friendly lunch bag and pops his non BPA container into the microwave. He is o so careful to just crack the top to vent his perfectly portioned, locally grown organic meal as to not create a “splashing” situation in the microwave. AH! It’s office lunchtime at it’s best!
Off-Icky wanders into the office kitchen at 2… He’s just getting to the office actually and decides it’s time for his “lunch hour” which typically turns into some where around an hour and a half. Icky reaches into the fridge to grab the sauce pot of spaghetti he whipped up while lounging at home this morning. The pan was hot off the stove and has now bonded to the shelf of the fridge. After some prying and more than a bit of spillage, Icky is now able to shove the metal pot into the microwave. Within a few moments the microwave lights up with a fantastic sparks show, but Icky’s no dummy – it can’t possibly be hot yet!!! So the Kenmore is kicking it at power level 10 and soon Icky’s got a pretty good microwave volcano going! Icky thinks “Wow this is way better than burning popcorn!”
– by Kerri