Roger Forester was the nation's foremost expert on fatherhood, having authored seven best-selling books on the subject, including Who's Your Daddy: Navigating the Turbulent Waters of Paternity Disputes; My Son is Queer, and That's (G)A(Y) OK!; and Father Hood: Taking Care of the Household While You're in the Big House.
Because of his expertise, Roger was a frequent guest on nationally syndicated talk shows. He also had a regular column on parenthood.com, and was always being consulted in all media for his expert opinion.
Ironically, Roger himself wasn't exactly the best father in the world, or even the best father on his block. He was always out on book tours to promote his latest best-seller while his loving wife Sarah stayed home and took care of their three adorable children.
It wasn't that he didn't love them. He did. It was just that he was so wrapped up in his work that he never took the time to appreciate the things that were really important in life.
On the day before Thanksgiving, Roger was in Chicago doing an interview for NPR. Afterwards, he had exactly 45 minutes to make it across town to the airport so he could catch his flight back to New York.
It was going to be close, but he had to make it. Not only was the next day Thanksgiving, but it was also the day that his five-year-old son's kindergarten would be putting on their Thanksgiving pageant, and he had to be there. He had no choice. Roger had been such an absentee father these last few months. Every time he got home from work the kids were already asleep. There were so many missed soccer games, so many blown opportunities to help them with their homework or play with them; hell, to watch them grow up. It was all going by so fast. The Thanksgiving pageant was his last shot at redemption.
And as Roger left the NPR studios, the streets of Chicago were a disaster: Wet snow. Miserable traffic. Everyone on the roads. Gridlock as far as the eye could see. Not an empty cab in sight. He would never make it.
And yet somehow he did! He managed to find a cab that managed to squeeze its way behind an ambulance that was flying through traffic, and he made it to the airport with time to spare--only to learn that all outbound flights had been cancelled due to the snowstorm.
Amazing.
Stuck in Chicago.
Now he would never get back to New York for his son's Thanksgiving pageant.
Then, just as he was about to call Sarah to break the news, he was approached by a morbidly obese man in what had to be the world's largest down jacket. Recognizing Roger from the jacket of the Roger Forester book he was reading (Father Christmas: A Father's Guide to Surviving the Holidays), the boisterous and phlegmatic man introduced himself as Stanley Cogburn, Roger's biggest fan.
Knowing that Roger hailed from New York, would probably be wanting to return there for Thanksgiving, and was now snowed in in Chicago, Stanley offered him shotgun in the SUV he had just reserved online and was going to drive back to New York that night.
Roger was dubious.
It was a generous offer, but he could imagine how the episode would go. He'd met people like Stanley before. It would start out OK, but Stanley would gradually get on Roger's nerves, and Roger would quickly come across as condescending and uptight to the more sloppy and unkempt Stanley.
Things would go wrong.
They would get lost, wreck the car, and end up having to awkwardly share a hotel room in the middle of nowhere. They would lose all their money somehow, get mistaken for runaway bank robbers, and have about a million other things blow up in their faces.
And yet through the trials and tribulations of their road trip, they would come to appreciate one another's quirks. They would bond and learn to laugh again, and by the end of the trip, as they showed up on the doorstep of Roger's New York City townhouse and a picture perfect Thanksgiving dinner, they would realize that they had become friends.
Moreover, the whole experience would give Roger an opportunity to reexamine his life and realize what was really important to him--family. He would come away from the road trip a wiser, more patient man. But more importantly, he would finally learn to be the right kind of father for his children--maybe not a world renowned expert on fatherhood. Just an expert on being their dad. And what could be more important than that?
Roger accepted Stanley's offer.
And surprisingly, it was a really smooth trip. Once they got out of Chicago, the storm let up, and the driving was a piece of cake.
What's more, Stanley turned out to be a really bright and witty guy, and he and Roger clicked on every conversation topic: sports, politics, movies, everything. The miles flew by.
After driving through the night, Stanley dropped Roger off early Thanksgiving morning and wished him a Happy Turkey Day. As he tiptoed into his quiet home, Roger couldn't remember ever having had such a pleasant road trip.
He had made it back with plenty of time to see his son's Thanksgiving pageant. And the best part was that he was able to get a spot all by himself in the back of the auditorium so he could check email while Sarah videotaped it. He felt kind of guilty about it, but he knew his son would never know the difference.
All in all, Roger had a pretty good Thanksgiving. He had a few pleasant moments with his family, but mostly it was a great chance to catch up on work and sleep.
Plus, while he didn't end up learning any important lessons about love, life, and/or family, the turkey was amazing. Much juicier than last year's.
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