Life may rip cherished relationships to shreds, deprive you of loved ones, and shatter your dreams. Sometimes it may seem as if the measure of your life would be better considered in terms of what you have lost, rather than in what you possess. But whatever your situation, there is always something to be thankful for. Whether we can perceive this or not influences how we approach such holidays as Thanksgiving.
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| The table is set. But are you ready to eat? |
In “Paul Blart, Mall Cop,” the title character sees himself as incomplete. Divorced, still living with his mother, unable to purchase such everyday items as a cellphone for himself or his daughter Maya, and suffering from the Hyperglycemia that bars him from becoming a New Jersey State Trooper, he views himself as a failure. Although he does his best to protect and serve everyone in the mall, he introduces himself to Veck Simms, a new Security trainee, as someone not content with his present status. His job, as important as he sees it, serves merely as a stepping-stone toward achieving his goal of becoming a state trooper.
When he meets Amy, the beautiful girl who runs the Unbeweavable kiosk, he finds himself transfixed by her beauty. Given his low self-esteem, he is surprised when she seems to return his affection. But on Thanksgiving Eve, he unintentionally drinks a margarita during an employee get-together at American Joe’s, and this initiates a series of drunken acts that disturb and frighten her.
The next day, when he eats his Thanksgiving meal with his mother and his daughter Maya, the mood at the table is dour. He knows he should be thankful for what he has—a beautiful daughter, a loving mother, and a job that, while not all that he wants, gives him satisfaction—yet he can only think of how he has disappointed Amy. How could he have taken such a promising relationship, in its initial, most delicate phase, and trashed it so?
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| "Mm-mmm, turkey!" |
As Black Friday draws to a close, armed hoodlums drive shoppers from the mall. It seems that Veck only posed as a trainee to study the mall’s security: he is the gang’s leader, and has taken hostages in the bank. The police arrive outside, and Sergeant Howard attempts to negotiate for the hostages’ release. Paul follows Sergeant Howard’s instructions and prepares to leave the mall. Then he sees her car parked outside. He ignores orders and refuses to leave, knowing Amy’s life may be in danger.
But it is not only Amy that matters to him. For his devotion to duty, his concern for shoppers’ safety, and the way in which he treats everyone as equals has won him many friendships among his coworkers. He proves his capabilities throughout the night as he uses his intricate knowledge of the mall to combat the hoodlums. He demonstrates the measure of his soul when he risks his life to save not just Amy, his daughter, and his friends, also Stuart, the pen salesman who constantly ridicules him.
After numerous battles, Paul captures Veck and rescues Amy and Maya. As the sun rises on a new day, Sergeant Howard decides to overlook Paul’s Hyperglycemia, and offers him his life-goal: to make him a state trooper. Yet Paul declines this generous offer. For he has come to realize that he has a place where he belongs, a job that is important, and people who respect him. He no longer sees himself in the process of becoming. He has arrived.
You may not have achieved your financial and career goals. You may not be forced to single-handedly take on armed criminals. But if you regard what you do as important, and see others as equally deserving, you will gain the respect and love of those around you. As Paul Blart comes to realize, that’s a lot to be thankful for.
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| To Protect, Serve, and Be Thankful |
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