*Scenario /sce·nar·i·o/ noun; a postulated sequence or development of events. A scenario is similar to a *situation /sit·u·a·tion/ noun; a set of circumstances in which one finds oneself. Primary difference being that a “situation” is currently in progress and a “scenario” hasn’t happened yet and might not happen at all.
It is relatively easy to gauge our reaction and response to suggested situations of self-preservation. However, a scenario’s outcome becomes a bit more complex when forced to consider the other guy. Grab a flashlight- it’s about to get a little dark up in here.
Your commercial airliner has plunged into the Pacific. Fortunately, within swimming distance of a tropical island. Unfortunately, the said island is small, uninhabited and has zero resources.
Luckily, the food cache from the plane has washed ashore. If used sparingly it may last you till rescue. Unluckily, so has another mortally, critically, horrifically wounded survivor- they will die no matter what you do. Currently they’re unconscious.
So, do you tend to them and make their final days (hours) as pleasant as possible? Exhausting your finite resources? Or hoard up the foodstuffs and leave them to their fate? How long would resistance to cannibalism last if more bodies washed up?
Of course, you wouldn’t be faced with such difficult decisions if you’d gotten off the plane sooner.
Back on board, pre-plunge, the suicide bomber (and cause of the plane’s unscheduled landing) is in the middle of his/her (suicide bombing- an equal opportunity employment) anti-political monologue. As they rattle off their hijack reasoning, they come close to you and the emergency-exit hatch. There is but a moment when you know you could tackle them, engage the hatch and maybe, just maybe, risk all to save all… except you and the bomb-person. Do you take up explosive skydiving? Or pray that there’s an island down there?
Maybe this would be easier to contemplate on ground level?
You’ve evaded the active shooter at the airport. Hidden safely out of sight with a few other passengers. The gunman draws close and has his back to you. An elderly gent and fellow hider (who may look tropically tasty later) hands you his heavy wooden cane to use as a bludgeon. Do you go Die Hard 2 and yippee-ki-yay it? Or shush the gent and by stand?
This predicament could have been easily avoided. If you hadn’t missed your first flight. Because you needed your special pre-flight snack.
You’ve no fear of flying but the take-off tests your nerves. You’ve found your fave travel snack eases you into the air. So, you swing into the local grocery, and hit the snack aisle. There, on the back of the top shelf, is the last bag of Utz Chesapeake Bay style Crab Cheese Balls. And below it… a little grandma lady, desperately reaching for it. Her grandbabies are coming for a visit and it’s their favorite, doncha know. So, do you snag the bag with- “Sucks being short, don’t it?” or do the right thing?
What is the “right thing?” Is there a set of unspoken codes of conduct? Is right based on the situation or those within it? What if similarities of those within and the situation cause conflict? Like in the parking lot.
Getting ready to enter the store and… is that smoke you smell? OMG! The orphanage is engulfed in flames! You know, the one beside the grocery, next to the… OMFG! The animal shelter is also ablaze! The terrified cries of small children compete with desperate yaps of horror. Do you go for the kids? Or release the hounds? You cannot do both.
This is reminiscent of the time you almost escaped that burning building unscathed, when you heard a cry for help from deeper within. Did you go back? Or save your own skin?
Sigh. None of this would happen if you hadn’t gotten hung up with that stranger sofa.
As you were leaving- right on schedule. Your new, as of yet unknown, neighbor was struggling to get their furniture indoors. You’ve got a flight to catch… but they’re really struggling. Do you forgo your plans and maybe make a new friend? Who may return the favor in the future. Or do you act like you don’t see them and start what will turn into one helluva day?
I welcome almost all questions, comments via through the Focus, or E-mail me at [email protected]. Hope to hear from ya, until then try and stay focused! See ya.
