Thomas Monahan, the grandson of Mary Monahan, was a bright, handsome young lad who had a very serious problem. He couldn’t say no to anyone. He knew his way around electronics, mainly the computer, probably better than anyone else his age of sixteen years.
His grandmother lived at St. Peter’s Nursing home for the elderly. She had a computer, but had an awful time learning how to work it. One day she summoned her grandson to come over and show her how. He gladly accepted, got on the bus, and came right over. While he was trying to teach her, Mrs. Riley came over to visit and said, “What a handsome young lad you are, Thomas. Would you like a piece of cake I just baked?” You see, I’ve been having trouble getting my TV remote to switch channels. Would you like to come over and fix it for me? I would be delighted if you could. Thank you, Thomas. That would be so kind of you.”
After he fixed it, Mrs. Cook came over and offered him some doughnuts that she baked if he would show her how to work her CD player. Then Mrs. McNulty gave him a piece of pie after he showed her how to set up her computer. Then Mrs. Johnson gave him some cheese cake for showing her how to work her cell phone. After he finally finished, he got on the bus and went home. He was so full, he couldn’t sleep that night. This went on for days and days, because he couldn’t say no to anyone. Electronic geniuses surely are in demand, especially around senior living facilities.
Then it finally happened. One time while riding home on the bus, he had to go to the bathroom in the back. He had gained so much weight from all the pastries the ladies had given him at St. Peter’s, he had a terrible time wedging himself inside. When he finished, he couldn’t get back out.
He had to ride all the way back to the bus terminal, and they had to tear apart the bathroom to get him out. When he got the bill, $3,426.53, for ripping it out and putting a new one in, he couldn’t pay for it, so the judge made him fix their computers at the bus station to pay it back in installments.
Because Thomas had a problem because he couldn’t say no, it cost him all that money; which goes to show you. If you are an electronic genius, keep your mouth shut about it. You’ll find yourself fixing everybody’s TV, CDs, DVDs, cell phones, computers, and whatevers for free for the rest of your life. You will be kidnapped at senior homes, be forced to fix all their equipment, get stuffed up full of cookies, and get stuck in bathrooms. So if you can’t say no to people, just don’t learn anything about anything.