Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, We Love You!

By Jeffery A. Faulkerson, MSSW

So, I'm strolling down one of the aisles at my local B.J.'s Wholesale Club when I spot the DVD for one of my all-time favorite movies.  The movie, first released in 1968, is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and it stars Dick Van Dyke and Sally Ann Howes as Caractacus Potts and Truly Scrumptious, respectively.  Robert Helpmann also fills the iconic role of Child Catcher, and Benny Hill makes an appearance as the Toymaker.

Even though I had already blown my Christmas present budget, I went ahead and purchased the DVD.  It was only 15 bucks.  I surmised that it would be great for my wife, son and I to watch it together during our upcoming Family Friday.  But when we finally sat down to watch it, I found myself regressing to a time when I led a much simpler life in my mother's home.

Much like Jeremy and Jemima Potts, Caractacus Potts' two children who were portrayed by Adrian Hall and Heather Ripley, I grew up in a single-parent household.  Not having my father fully accessible to me had an immense impact on my life, as I had to rely on the example set by other men to show me how to be a man.  But during my moments of reflection, I also remember daydreaming about the kind of life I wanted to lead as an adult.  It was these dreams that helped me develop the values and practices I needed to graduate from high school and college, get married and become gainfully employed.

Of course, there are times when I feel reality isn't reflective of those childhood dreams.  Besides graduating from high school and college, and getting married, I wanted to be published by a traditional publisher before I turned 30.  I'm in my early 40s now, and I've never been represented by a literary agent who will ultimately be responsible for shopping my completed manuscript to New York-based publishing houses.  That happens when you are working in cahoots with your wife to build and maintain a functional family.  For this reason, I don't view myself as a failure; I view myself as a competent father and husband who creatively expresses himself when the muse moves him.   

My preoccupation with being a traditionally published writer sometimes causes me to be disengaged from my wife and son.  When I should be talking with my wife about her hopes and dreams, or throwing the football to my son in the backyard, I occasionally find myself staring at a computer screen, working on the next chapter in a book or developing an outline for a blog post.  I behave this ways because I'm not getting any younger.  I also think talk is cheap.  Don't I owe it to my wife and son to maximize this skill so our family can be even more prosperous?        

But in Caractacus Potts, Dick Van Dyke's character, I rediscovered what it means to be an engaged husband and father.  Caractacus'  mind seemed to always be on his next invention.  As I stated above, I can relate to that.  Caractacus didn't take a break from this preoccupation until he took Truly and the kids to the beach for a family picnic.  And it was through storytelling that Caractacus engaged his children in more fruitful dialogue and simultaneously won Truly's affection.     

Of course, my wife and son's desire to have me present doesn't mean I have to give up on my hopes and dreams.  It just means I have to be present when my presence is required.  Caractacus seemed to have a slightly firm grip on this concept at the outset of the movie, but his grip became tighter as his love-hate relationship with Truly became more intimate and involved.  This more intimate and involved relationship ultimately led to the formation of a blended family.

And that, my friends, is what this blog entry is all about.  We all must find the will to play the hand that has been dealt to us.  Even though I was raised by a single-parent mother, I'm playing my hand as well as it can be played.  By doing so, I'm able to live out the American dream as a husband, father, employee and entrepreneur.  I don't know what the future holds.  But I do know that as long as I continue to marry my faith in God to righteous words and deeds, I will continue to receive a measure of God's favor.   And as long as I know that this desire to be a great writer was placed in my heart by God, it is only a matter of time before the childhood dream becomes a reality.

And like Caractacus Potts, I will continue to live happily ever after with my own version of Truly Scrumptious and the kids.