10,000 NOs

Chapter 14Just Be a Good Person

“Be nice. Show up on time. Know your lines. Ya know, small things like that … hitting your mark. Those small things also prove to be in people's memories, ‘She's a professional. Not only can she do the material but we want to work with her.’”

—Melissa Ponzio, Actor, Chicago Fire, Teen Wolf

When you've read Curious George to your children as many times as I have, you begin to see a pattern. George is a monkey. He is always very curious and, one way or another, by the middle of each tale he has wandered away from his owner, the Man with the Yellow Hat, and found trouble. Whether George has taken all the books off the shelves of a library or been lost at the top of the Empire State Building because he was following the wrong yellow hat, he has aggravated some authority figure in some way. But just when George is reprimanded by said authority figure and facing the threat of some kind of punishment, a group of people, usually children, will come to his rescue. The plea on George's behalf will undoubtedly point out that George's actions, while not always conventionally smart, have somehow helped the situation despite his not following the rules. At this point, he is praised for his help and reunited with the Man with the Yellow Hat, who has finally tracked him down. George is always forgiven because his heart is in the right place and, quite frankly, people grow to like him for this.

Live the Golden Rule

There is much for us to learn from Curious ...