Those were the Days...

So in the boys next door, one might feel sorry for the characters. One might never wish the mental disabilities that Norman, Lucien, Arnold, and Barry have on their worst enemies. I have thought, and maybe this is a general conclusion that most ignorant people think about the mentally disabled, that they are trapped in a cage and are helpless. Although what I am about to state may be controversial, I have given it some thought.
    Maybe the boys next door do have it "made." Maybe all of their dreams do come true for them. Because they are not in touch with reality, they can make their own reality; and if someone tried to tell them otherwise then that person was not in touch with reality. I can definitely see how this could be the case with Barry. From his conversation with Mr. Hedges, or "Hodges", Barry truly believes that he is the Class A teaching professional who can fix his clients golf game. Heck, he even runs a business off of this premise. Obviously this is his reality and he has made a living out of it. The summary on the back of the book states, "Barry, a brilliant schizophrenic who is devastated by the unfeeling rejection of his brutal father, fantasizes that he is a golf pro."
     Look at Lucien P. Smith for a second. He has the mind of a five year old. He cannot read and can barely say coherent sentences. But Jesus states in Matthew 18:3 "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Children are dependent on their parents to look out for their welfare and for their needs. I think Jesus is telling his disciples here that to enter the kingdom you have to give up your independence and become dependent on him. In the same way Lucien depends on Government funding and a social worker to live. All I am getting at is that maybe Lucien feels safe and taken care of at his current state. So maybe he really doesn't have it as bad as we might think...maybe we do because we all strive for our independence.
     Norman and Shelia's love seems so elementary and genuine. I can remember my first love, although I won’t share it with you I can definitely say that I did forget the words of Taylor Swift in her song Fifteen, "don't forget to look before you fall". I fell, and so do Norman and Shelia. Man, what a beautiful feeling. Truly, I think Norman has it better than if I was dating the finest women on earth (Miley Cyrus), because he doesn't have any baggage from the past that we know of. He displays the same juvenile mindset as a love-struck fifteen year old would when he predicts Shelia and his marriage and children.
     So maybe the mentally handicapped do not have it as bad as we make it out to be. After all I would not know what it would be like to be mentally handicapped. But I do know what it felt like to be 5 years old imaging I was Michael Jordan, or 14 years old and falling like a sack of potatoes for my first love. Those were the days...