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Red Wagons and Pink Flamingos

Album: 22: The Changing Times

Episode: 296

Lesson/Theme: Friendship; forgiveness; resolving conflicts.

Bible Verse: Matthew 5:23-24

Characters: Jason

Writer: Marshal Younger

Sound Designer: Bob Luttrell

Original Air Date: January 7, 1995

Last Air Date: March 12, 2009

Description:
Erica’s birthday is around the corner. She and her best friend, Kim, are planning a party at Whit’s End. Kim suggests that the theme for the party be flamingos, but Erica pooh-poohs the idea. While they plan, Jason wheels in his new invention, a Bible video game. Jason plugs it in and turns on the power. Much to Jack’s dismay, it’s an instant success. The invention is loud and obnoxious. But the kids seem to like it, so Jack keeps his thoughts to himself. A few days later, Erica has her party. Kim shows up extremely late. In fact, the party is almost over when Kim arrives. Kim explains that on the way to the party, she passed Greenblatt’s Department Store. It was having a huge sale, so she had to stop. Erica can’t believe that Kim missed the party to go shopping. Kim apologizes, but Erica is irate. She and Kim get into an argument that ends up nearly destroying their friendship. Meanwhile, Jack gets so annoyed by the video game’s noise, he unplugs it. Erica comes in and tells Jack about her fight with Kim. Jack can relate to Erica because he once experienced a similar situation. But Jack says he realized that the friendship was more important than the disagreement. He helps Erica see that her friendship with Kim is worth saving. Erica leaves to find Kim. Then Jason enters. He and Jack talk about the video game, and they agree to put the game in a soundproof room. And as Jack and Jason resolve their differences, so do Erica and Kim.

Questions:
Why was Erica so angry at Kim? What did Kim’s actions say to Erica about their friendship? Why didn’t Erica want to forgive Kim? Why didn’t Jack want to tell Jason how he really felt about the video game? Should Jack have said something sooner? Why or why not?