The Home Stretch, Part 2: The big, huge question.

[dreadedcandiru2]

Yesterday's post contained within it the real source of the Patterson's woes: their consistent failure to come up with a realistic answer to one of the only questions that matter: "What's the worst thing that could happen?" When I started this, I saw yellowjkt's article about the "Bad Idea Foobs" who told the Pattersons to always take the worst possible course of action in a given situation. Whether they exist or not, the Patterclan act as if they do. Take, for instance, the mess Liz made of her relationship with Paul. She asked herself "Hmmm. I told him to transfer to be with me in Mtigwaki but I decided to move back home. I'll just ask him to transfer again. What's the worst thing that could happen?" She failed to give the right answer to that question. Instead of coming up with the (W)right answer, namely "He might think I'm just jerking him around and seek out a girlfriend who doesn't", she came up with "If he loves me, he won't mind." It also explains why Mike quit Portrait in the gutless way he did. He thought the worst thing in the world was clearing out all the dead wood so he stupidly fell on his sword. In his shoes, I'd run the place like a scab foreman. John's insane-seeming need to buy the TTH now instead of waiting for April to go to college? His idea of the worst thing in the world is not having somewhere to put his damned trains. Why doesn't Iris ask for help? She doesn't want Elly to have a meltdown. I would've stood by and let Elly make an ugly, ungrateful looking fool of herself in Iris's place 'cause that'd've meant Potatonose would've been shamed into doing what she's supposed to be doing. Elly's failure to come up with the correct answer to that bit April on the ass twice. First, she thought that making a deal with a toddler would work out better than fumbling for keys to the back gate. Second, she'd've rather let Kortney steal from her and threaten her child than possibly look like the heavy and fire La Krelbutz's ass. Anthony would've rather let Therese suffer in silence than get her psychiatric help she needed because he thought it would make him look like he wasn't on the ball so that makes him a Patterson by association.