The Horrors of Reality

Ben had always had aspirations to grow up and be famous.  He didn't care how he got that way, but he knew he wanted to be famous.  Seeing all of the movie stars and pop singers being swarmed by beautiful women, having money, and being able to do whatever they wanted, that is what he wanted.

But the problem was, Ben was from, Bancroft, Nebraska.  That meant there were very few prospects in his town.  There was barely anything to do in town, and out of town there were only miles of farmland to be found.

(Wikipedia)

One day, while on Facebook, Ben saw a post about a reality tv show that was having auditions.  It was a new show that hadn't ever been on tv before, something about a group of 20-somethings trying to make it in a big city.  Ben didn't pay that much attention to the details of the show.  All he saw was that the show was having auditions in a city just a couple hours drive from where he lived.  He realized that the could go, get on the show and become famous!

He didn't pay attention to anything else at that point.  He took note of when and where the audition was (it was tomorrow!) and then raced around his room grabbing things to pack.  His head was just in such a whirl from the excitement and opportunity that had been presented to him.  After he finished packing everything, he jumped in his car and raced off to where the audition was being held.  After getting lost a few times on the way, he finally made it.  He found where the audition was going to be held and realized he had to find a place to spend the night.  The sun was already setting and he was in a foreign city.  After driving around for a little while, he couldn't find a hotel or a place to stay for the night because every place available was full.  So he decided the next best option was to park in the parking lot next to where the audition was going to be and sleep in his car.  He was all settled to get a couple hours of sleep when he heard a rapping at the door.

"What are you doing here?!  You need to leave now!"  Startled, Ben jumped in his seat and looked out the window.  There was an old grumpy officer  glaring down at him.

"I'm sorry sir.  I'm here for the reality tv show audition in the morning and i didn't have anywhere else to sleep."

"I don't care why you are here.  You need to leave now!"

"Ok, ok.  I'm going.  I'm sorry sir."  Ben put his car into reverse and pulled out of the parking lot.  What was he going to do now?  It was just past midnight and he still had to find a place to stay for the night.  He drove around some and found a parking lot that was next to a hotel.  No one would ever think twice about another car parked next to a hotel, right?  Ben pulled up to a spot, turned off the car and settled in for the night.  Just as he drifted off to sleep, he heard a knocking on his car door window.  "Again?"  He thought sleepily as he turned around to see who it was.

"What are you doing here?!  You need to leave now!"  Ben stared at him in shock.  It was the exact same guy who had told him to leave the other parking lot!  Ben rolled down the window and stared up at the officer.

"I'm so sorry officer.  But, didn't you just tell me to move my car less than an hour ago?"

"No! What are you doing making up stories sonny?! Actually . . you may have run into my brother.  We are identical you see."

"That must have been it.  I'm so sorry for the confusion officer.  I will leave right away."  Ben said apologetically and pulled away from the spot.  "Great.  It is almost 2 now and I need to get some sleep!"  Ben drove around for a little longer and decided to go to the opposite side of town.  He finally found another spot just before 3 and settled in for the night.  Then, before he knew it, there was more knocking on his window.

"What are you doing here?!  You need to leave now!"  The SAME officer was before was staring down at him.

"Don't you know already?  I already told you that I am here for the audition for the reality tv show.  I then met you brother and he told me to move my car again."

"You never told me that!  You probably ran into my other brothers.  We are triplets and are all night watch in this town.  However, I don't give a flying flip about why you are here!  You need to leave now!"

"Ok, ok.  I'm going, I'm going." Ben grumbled, as he pulled out of the spot for a final time.  "You know, what?!  I am going home.  I can't handle this.  I'll find some other way to get my dream."  And he pealed off racing towards his hometown.  As soon as he got home, he landed in his bed and slept until the late afternoon.  A couple weeks later, Ben was looking through the newspaper and saw an article about the tv show he had been planning on trying out for.  It turns out that the show was canceled before it started due to the extreme amount of physical, mental and emotional stress it put those on the tv show through.

"Hmmm," mused Ben. "I guess it was a good thing after all that I never tried out for that."


Author's Note: This story is based on the story How the Raven Saved the Hunter.  In this story a poor man goes out to hunt to try to find something to eat.  In the middle of the day he stops for he is tired and hungry.  He spots a small stream with crystal clear water flowing through it.  He goes to drink the water when a raven stops him by knocking the leaf out of his hand.  The man tries to drink two more times and the raven stops him two more times.  Finally, the man becomes so frustrated he kills the raven.  After wondering if the raven was trying to stop him for a reason, he walks up the stream.  He finds that the stream flows out of the mouth of a giant snake and there are animals all around who tried to drink and died because it was poisoned.  With horror, the man realizes he killed the bird who was trying to save his life.