Some Things We Can't Escape

Poppa was a rolling stone

One of the shows I watch on a fairly regular basis is "Brothers and Sisters" which stars Sally Fields, Ally McBeal and a bunch of other people. The show is about these five siblings, their recently widowed mother and the people that come in and out of their lives.

On some levels it's funny, on other levels it's realistically dramatic and sometimes even a little poignant. But one thing that stands out to me almost every episode is how hey have to deal with consequences and repercussions of some action, sometimes immoral, sometimes illegal, of their dead patriarch.

Either he had an affair (or two) and the family is left to ponder the existence and location of another half sibling or he embezzled money which put the family business in jeopardy leaving the family to clean up that mess. Every week it's something new that they've discovered, some new misstep or bad behavior that dear old dad left behind as his legacy. And staying true to "Hollywood" eventually the family prevails or just comes to terms that Pop was not such a great guy and move on to the next episode.

This got me thinking:

Me Thinking - "We all know that our actions have consequences and repercussions that most times fall upon our shoulders. But how deep is it, that even after we're gone, we could potentially be passing on those side effects to the people closest to us. Side effects caused by actions or behavior that those same loved ones may not have known anything about."

I guess it's a much more dramatic version of someone dying minus any life insurance or "stash", thus leaving the survivors holding the expensive bag of funeral costs, mortgages, childcare costs, etc.

Wow.

Never thought the reach of irresponsibility could get a hold of me even beyond the grave. It kinda makes you sit back and think a little bit harder about the things you do......

Or don't do.