| Generated by Google Flow text-to-video AI software, powered by Veo 3 |
I’m going to be totally honest here, Landis and I have not always agreed. His
mother always believed that he was gonna move on to do great things, but the
kid was approaching his thirties, and he had nothing to show for it. Don’t get
me wrong, I love him to death, and nothing he could have done would have been
able to change my mind. I just remember wishing that he would have some kind
of ambition. I wasn’t one of those fathers who had a plan for their kid, and
they were going to follow it no matter what. I only had a few requirements.
Number one, he had to learn a second language. Most of the world understands
English, and I feel like the least we can do is meet them halfway. You can’t
learn them all, but you can at least learn one. Well, he didn’t do it. He
didn’t even try. He did the bare minimum in school, in his language classes,
and everything else. He wasn’t an idiot, but he was a poor student, because he
lacked motivation. I only got him into sports to teach him discipline, and
perseverance. I didn’t care if he became obsessed with it, or even if he liked
it. He could have switched to theatre or A/V Club, if that’s what struck his
fancy. I chose baseball, because that’s what I was familiar with, but I made
it clear that he had a choice. What he didn’t have a choice in was
doing nothing. He couldn’t just coast through school, and work minimum wage
for the rest of his life. I know, that might seem unrealistic. Someone is
working minimum wage, that’s why it exists. I just wanted him to want more out
of his life. Again, he didn’t have to do anything that I specifically chose
for him, but he had to have at least some passion about it, even if that
passion was for the money itself. He had to contribute positively to society,
and if that meant sticking with that minimum wage job, well, I figured I could
get over that. At least he was doing something. But he kept losing them, and
having to find something new. Secretly, I think that he preferred it this way.
He gets tired of things, you see. He doesn’t quit because he’s no good at it,
but because he just doesn’t wanna do it anymore. It becomes tedious. I’m
actually kind of surprised he came up with his foundation, because it’s the
same thing; day-in, day-out. I can’t believe that he can take it, but I’m
proud of him, and I’m happy for him. I never expected him to cure the entire
world. I would have just been happy with him holding down a job for longer
than six months. But he went for it. He really went for it. He exceeded all of
my expectations, and I regret every doubt I ever had for him. That’s my kid,
and I’m grateful for him.
