"Scott, you just don't get it."

Those who are fans of the Austin Powers movies will immediately recognize the movie quote above. It was said by Dr. Evil in response to his son’s persistence in using a simpler and more straightforward method to eliminate Austin Powers as compared to Dr. Evil’s elaborate and drawn-out scheme to get rid of Austin Powers. After a lengthy exchange with his son, Dr. Evil finally snaps at Scott, his son, and says “Scott, you just don’t get it.” I guess for Dr. Evil it was the joy of killing, the journey if you will, and not just the killing itself which gave him satisfaction. Anyway, the quote reminds me of something Father did one time when he was trying to get my attention in order to let him outside one evening.

A few weeks after Abby had learned the ‘stare at the door’ trick, Father thought he would copy Abby. Abby’s trick was to sit in the area on the living room floor between my chair and the TV, stare at the door, which was behind me, and cut her eyes at me. I would then ask her if she wanted to go ‘out’ or ‘pee-pee’, and if she immediately hopped up, then I would let her out.

One evening, my mom was entering the living room and told me to turn around and look behind me. There was Father sitting at the far end of the living room pointing towards the door. He had to go outside and was using Abby’s method of getting my attention except for one crucial element – getting my attention.

Father didn’t understand that a key aspect of that tactic was getting my attention. On one hand, I was proud of him for trying to learn and for paying attention. However, he just didn’t grasp the whole concept what Abby was doing. He only grasped why she was doing it. Father didn’t get it.

I thought it was sweet for Father trying to learn. At the time, he must have been around 6 years old, so learning something like that must have been very difficult for him. I found it sad that he had to look to a puppy to guide him in his learning and adjusting to his new situation. It would be like a 35 year old man learning from a kindergartener on norms and customs in society.

Father later switched to another method to get my attention when he wanted to go out. He would walk up to where I was sitting, stare at me, and make small quick steps in a jittery manner. He would almost seem to bounce when he was doing that motion. I would ask him if he wanted to ‘go out’, and he would head towards the door.

Father was learning.