Family Crisis

In a family, the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important generations: the elders; who spent their lives teaching and raising the youth, and the youngsters; who end up reversing roles at some point and begin to teach the elders. These are their stories.


The names have been changed to protect the innocent.


ANDY'S BURGERS
ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23
12:16PM

Jesse Tarver was in line to order a cheeseburger special with a Cherry Coke. It's NFL Sunday and he's been eating healthy all week. He deserves this. Better yet he's earned this. As he stood there, patiently waiting to fork over valuable paper in exchange for sustenance and fat, he realized that his cell phone was ringing in his pocket. He looked at the caller ID and recognized the number. No, there wasn't a name. This is a number he knew very well, his whole life actually.

Jesse looked up in front of him, phone in hand, and realized there was an indecisive family trying to figure out their order. Jesse looked down at his phone. Now he was as indecisive as the family in front of him. Should he pick up? He figured he'd answer and use the fact that he was in line at a fast food restaurant as a quick exit plan. He presses the little green button.

"Hello?"

"Hi Jason, it's your mom. Listen I have a question. Do you remember the password we made for our email? I can't get in. I don't know what happened."

"Um...I don't remember. I think it's the cat's name." Jesse had set up an email account for his parents months earlier. That is an entire story in itself.

"Okay I'll try that. If not, I'll just wait for your father to come home. How are you is everything okay?"

"Yeah, mom. I'm about to get some food."

"Oh okay, I'll let you go. Love you, bye."

"Bye."

That was quick and painless, Jesse thought. Now if only that family could hurry up and decide already.



ALBERTSON'S GROCERY STORE
ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23
1:09 PM

The cell phone rang again. Jesse sighed as he pulled out the phone from his pocket. He usually doesn't get phone calls so he assumed it was a call from his parents. He was right. One of the only times he wished he was wrong.

"Hello."

Instead of hear a response from his mother, it was Jesse's father who replied. "Jesse, I think the password was 'LisaManny' and not the cat's name. I tried using it though and then it says I have to type in this weird looking word. I can't make out what it says."

Jesse already knew what the issue is. His parents' vision have been deteriorating since the late 90s and now the 10s were going to sock it to them.

"It's the cache word or something." Jesse meant to say captcha but it didn't make a lick of difference. He could have said it was the with the same result. Regardless, Jesse continued. "It's to for security measures. Just refresh the word you can't read the one they show you. Sometimes they're all messed up."

There was a pause. "There isn't a refresh button," Jesse's father said.

After a few moments of back and forth banter, Jesse's father found it and the phone conversation ended with good-bye and that pressing of the little red button. Crisis averted.


JESSE'S ROOM
ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23
1:24 PM

Football on the television; a fatty lunch in front of him. This is what a Sunday is all about. Along with that whole church thing. Although there was a voice in his head telling him that it wasn't over, Jesse began to eat his lunch. Suddenly the sound of that voice became the sound of his cell phone ringing.

The frustration of the predicament has led the Tarvers to start yelling. Jesse could hear his mother from a clear distance. He couldn't make out what she was saying but he was sure it was irrational.

Jesse's father could not for the life of him figure out the captcha no matter how many times he refreshed it. Since Jesse was now at home, he offered to take care of the situation. He went into their email account and changed their password. Jesse's father explained this to his wife.

"WHAT? NO! I HAVE IMPORTANT PICTURES IN THERE FROM MY COUSIN!!! HE CAN'T CHANGE THE PASSWORD. I HAVEN'T PRINTED THEM!!!" Jesse's mother was now yelling in hysterics, clearly not understanding the situation. This is the same woman that didn't want an email account to begin with, because she was afraid her identity would get stolen. This is also the same woman that raised Jesse.

Jesse's parents began to argue at each other. His mother blamed her husband for the tragedy that had just taken place. His father countered with telling her he never uses the email so it couldn't be his fault. Finally the bell rang and the fighters had returned to their corners.

Jesse's father typed in the new password and the captcha showed up again. It was back to square one. Jesse tested out the new password from his computer and he got into his parents' email account without an issue or a captcha showing up. Something was definitely wrong on their end.

Jesse concluded that his father was mistyping the password and that made his father angry. Suddenly the bell rang and the next round in this bout became a three-way match.

After endless tries and thirty minutes of chaos, plus a "Thank you, praise Jesus!" from his mother, Jesse's parents were once again able to open their email account. Suddenly the world was a better place. Gaddafi was no longer the dictator of Libya, the Tarvers had their email, and Jesse could finally eat his lunch.