Thanksgiving leftovers = delicious. Ross thinks so too.
“That sandwich was the only good thing going on in my life!”
The one thing Ross looks forward to after thanksgiving is his thanksgiving leftovers sandwich. Monica makes it just for him. He was so excited to have it for lunch at work but when he looks in the fridge it’s gone!! Ross couldn’t believe his eyes and he was beyond upset. He storms into the coffee house and tells everyone the terrible news. “Well what did the police say?” asks Chandler sarcastically. Monica offers to make him another but Ross is still upset. He decides to leave a nasty note for the person who dared to eat his sandwich. Phoebe writes him a note that would scare anyone. The next day at work Ross’s boss asks him about his recent well craziness and wants him to see a psychiatrist. Ross explains that it was all because of a sandwich and his boss recalls that he ate that sandwich. Ross questions whether he saw the note on the sandwich saying it was his and his boss had indeed seen it. He then tells Ross he might find the rest of it in his trash can. This did not go over very well with Ross at all and he has a little outburst (by which I mean his yells could be heard throughout the city). His boss sends him to the psychiatrist and Ross is given a pill for his anger and has to take a leave of absence. After taking the pill, Ross doesn’t even care about his sandwich anymore.
Well obviously our friend Ross has a little bit of an anger issue, but instead of focusing on Ross’s irrationality I would like to focus on the actions of his boss. Why are people compelled to take something that belongs to someone else? I’m not talking major theft but the little things we do maybe everyday. We snag that last french fry off our friends plate without them seeing, we borrow our friends clothes without asking, or we take a movie from a friend and forget to return it. These little things can sometimes get the people we’re taking from more worked up than we would expect. It was just a sandwich that Ross’s boss took. One sandwich. Ross could have gone and gotten another sandwich anywhere. But this wasn’t an ordinary sandwich; it meant something to him. His boss didn’t realize this and his mistake of eating Ross’s sandwich turns into a large problem than he thought it would. We can’t just assume that the person we are taking from won’t care at all because that thing you took might have meant more to them than you will understand. Bottom line: if you want something that’s not yours either get your own or ask the person to share.
Nicely done, as always. I think people sometimes sort of feel entitled to other people’s stuff. I think can be especially true with friends. The attitude is almost, “If I’m friends with you, then you won’t mind if I take that little bit of food or that movie.” The underlying assumption here is that friends are always totally cool with sharing everything with each other. I totally think its fine if certain friends want to do that, but you are both individuals that also have boundaries. Just the other day, I was drinking a Coke, and one of my friends asked me if he could have a little. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a big deal or anything, and I let him have it. But reading your post triggered my thought process on this issue. Thanks again for a great topic and questions.
Emma, I love friends, and I love that your turning various episodes into life lessons. Not only is friends good for laughing until you pee your pants, but it also gives the audience a way to learn about life through the actions of Ross, Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe, and Joey. Love your blog!
I think this goes along the same lines as, “one persons trash is another persons treasure”. We all value specific, different things from one another and I think the boss just assumed he was taking something that was of little importance to him and didnt realize that it could represent more to someone else. Another great episode! And I love the way you pulled a little aspect of the episode!
I love how you incorporate friends into talking about a real issue. It makes it so entertaining, but I am still able to learn something!