No Pain No Gain

"Hey Shortman!"

"Hey grandpa." Arnold sighed, walking into the kitchen.

"What's eatin ya?" Phil asked, setting aside his paper.

"Eugene rode his bike over a soda can and slid into a parked car. He said he was okay, but he has a huge bruise on his head."

"Well, at least it was him and not you." Phil replied.

"I just feel so bad for him sometimes. He can't seem to make it through a day without something terrible happening to him." Arnold explained sorrowfully.

"Did I ever tell you about the time Jimmy Kafka and I went skateboarding down Hawk Mountain?" Phil asked anxiously.

"Uhh no?"

"I rode my board down that mountain with such grace and dignity…" Phil began to explain, while Arnold simply rolled his eyes.

"Then when I made it to the bottom, I signaled for Jimmy to follow."

"What happened?" Arnold asked, leaning his head in his hand against the table.

"Jimmy went racing down that hill faster than I do for the bathroom after eating your grandma's raspberry cobbler! He ran himself right into an oak tree the size of the boarding house!" Phil laughed.

"Did he go to the emergency room?" Arnold assumed, lifting his head up.

"Nope! Jimmy took his skateboard right back up that mountain and slid back down until he finally got the hang of it. Only took him about twelve or thirteen tries before he made it down without hittin' something." Phil said, rubbing his chin, thinking back to the day.

"Why would he keep attempting to hurt himself like that?" Arnold wondered.

"Because pain can be a very useful thing shortman!" Phil pointed out, while Arnold lifted an eyebrow.

"It can?"

"Everytime Jimmy crashed, he learned what NOT to do. He learned not to ride with one leg, not to ride with his eyes closed, not to try walking on the board while it's moving. Once he was through trying all those stupid stunts, he made it down the hill just fine!" Phil laughed.

"I don't think Eugene's going to repeatedly ride his bike into another person's car?"

"Nope! 'Cause now he knows to keep his eyes on the road!" Phil chuckled, while bumping Arnold's shoulder.