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A Victim of Circumstance

Album: 23: Twists and Turns

Episode: 306

Lesson/Theme: Taking responsibility for your actions.

Bible Verse: Genesis 3

Characters: Bart, Jason, Rodney

Writer: Phil Lollar

Sound Designer: Mark Drury

Original Air Date: March 18, 1995

Last Air Date: March 26, 2009

Description:
Jack and Jason are in the office one evening, looking at the moon through their new skylight. Suddenly, they hear creaking and groaning from the ceiling. Before anyone knows what is happening, the skylight comes crashing down almost on top of them! They discover that the skylight didn’t cave in by itself. Rodney Rathbone stepped through it! He has a severe cut on his head and a broken arm. Later, at the hospital, he admits to Jack, Jason, and Bart that he was setting up a water-balloon trap on the roof. Bart tells Jack and Jason he’s grateful they’re not pressing trespassing charges against Rodney. But as soon as Jack and Jason leave, a new visitor steps into the room, a lawyer named Howard J. Weizel. Weizel convinces Bart and Rodney that they have a strong lawsuit against Jason Whittaker and Whit’s End! Jack and Jason can’t believe it. They try everything possible to get the case dismissed. They even send Weizel on a strange ride in the Room of Consequence to show him the disastrous results of his work. But Weizel and Rodney press charges, and they actually win. Fortunately, the jury only awards them one dollar. The damage is still done, though. From now on, Whit’s End will have to put warning signs on everything.

Questions:
Was Rodney really in the wrong for being on the roof? Why or why not? Should Whit’s End have had a sign telling kids to stay off the roof? Explain. Why is it wrong to not take responsibility for your mistakes? Have you ever done that?