"Yes, it's true," says a visibly angry Bobby, "some people want me to cut and run from this challenge, but I won't place an arbitrary timetable on learning my lessons, that would be counter-productive."
"It's not that we want to cut Bobby off," says Bobby's father, James "Mr." Wilson, "but this has gone on long enough. We never expected the cost to be this high and realistically we're not sure what else he can accomplish at that school. It's time for him to stand up and be his own man, we've given him what we can."
"I think if we saw any evidence that he was changing tactics," explains mother, June Wilson, "and trying to do better in school and take control of the situation we'd probably be willing to keep spending our retirement nest egg. But as it is, he's doing the same things that got us all in this mess. Giving him a deadline to get done what he needs to get done will help him focus. He needs to know that we won't always be there for him."
But Bobby says he feels betrayed by his parents and that they are showing no loyalty to their own blood.
"I will not accept their defeatist attitude," says Bobby during an 11 AM bus trip to the liquor store, "I can win this thing if I just stay the course, I know I can. I mean, I don't think anyone could have anticipated that electrical engineering would be so hard. And even so, I feel like I have turned a corner. I mean after I aced that Linear Circuits midterm last week, I'm feeling like 'Mission Accomplished,' you know what I mean? I even wore someone else's cap and gown around all day and had my picture taken. Maybe I should have been studying for my Dynamical Systems midterm, but I like having my picture took, especially in costumes."
"To say that we don't love our son is insane," Jim states in self-defense, "But come on, six years? He told us he could do it in three and that it would pay for itself with scholarships and lucrative summer internships. None of that turned out to be true."
"Not only that, but it is pretty well documented how difficult electrical engineering programs are," chimes in June, "So I just don't understand his 'no one could have anticipated' comment. That's crazy. Jim, his own father, told him how difficult it would be by laying out all the reasons that he didn't major in electrical engineering. We feel misled by this whole experience and to 'stay the course' is not going to work for us. Either make a serious increase in effort or get out, those are the real options."
And even though a mere 30 percent of Bobby's acquaintances think that he's doing an adequate job at school, he thinks he's winning the argument. With a swagger and a true sense of American gumption Bobby states his position clearly and forcefully.
"I know we're supposed to be civil to family, but if it were for people like my parents Einstein would never have written that equation, Jonas Salk wouldn't have created water polo and Newton never would have been able to get gravity to work properly. My parents are a couple of sissified, education-hating traitors."
Yes, Robert "Bobby" Wilson knows adversity and whether or not he knows how to overcome it is irrelevant because he knows something much more valuable. He knows how to smear it.
