The Mentorship

A good mentor will save your life.

The sun had peeked over the horizon and it was officially show time. It was time for Peter, the one being mentored, to throw his hat into the ring of life. His mentor – his Papa – would be right behind him, but still Peter would have to take all the actions at precisely the right time.

A second too early would be ineffective, and a second too late would be catastrophic. Peter had been practicing his timing for two full months.

“I totally get why we can’t go late, but tell me again,” Peter said. “Tell me why we can’t do this a lot earlier.”

“Peter,” his Papa said. “I’ve told you a dozen times that in life you have to be able to spring into action at a moment’s notice, not a second before and not a split second after. Timing is everything in this game called life. And besides, we have exclusive contracts with several insurance companies. They pay us to do a job as often as we can. Let’s just say we get results-driven kickbacks.”

“I suppose so but…”

“No buts, Peter. Here’s the thing. You need to be on top of your game every time. Every time you take action, you need to be sure you can pull through 100 percent. No exceptions. If you don’t think you can make it, back out. No shame in that. A better time will come along shortly.”

“But, Papa, how did you manage for so long? I mean, you must be really quick.”

“Peter, I did exactly what I’m telling you. There were some days I just didn’t feel I was up to the task, so I didn’t even try.”

“Let me ask something, er, philosophical. Do you think it’s ethical what we do? I mean, how do you sleep at night knowing what we do keeps others awake at night?”

“I’ve thought long and hard about that, Peter. There are days when I just want to go back to being a plain old rabbit, going from yard to yard and eating what the other humans forget to bring in, but these researchers, they provide the best treats and the best habitat environments. Pretty safe if you think about it. So, I guess you have to play the game the way they want if they’re paying for all the goodies we enjoy.”

“Look, Papa, here comes a truck. Think I’m ready for my first vehicle to slam on its brakes and potentially wreck his truck?”

“Not yet, Peter. Not quite yet.”

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