Subj:.....Dad's Brownies (S245)            From: kmacinty on 10/10/2001 . Photo from Flickr.com...

His three teens wanted to see a particular popular movie 
that was playing at local theaters. It was rated PG-13. 

The teens interviewed friends and even some members of 
their family's church to find out what was offensive in 
the movie. 

The teens made a list of pros and cons about the movie to 
use to convince their dad that they should be allowed to 
see it. 

The con's were: 
 *It contained ONLY 3 swear words 
 *The ONLY violence was a building exploding 
  (and you see that on TV all the time they said), 
 *You actually did not "see" the couple in the movie having 
  sex, it was just implied sex, off camera. 

The pros were: 
 *It was a popular movie, (a blockbuster). 
 *Everyone was seeing it. 
 *If the teens saw the movie then they would not feel 
  left out when their friends discussed it. 
 *The movie contained a good story and plot. 
 *It had some great adventure and suspense in it. 
 *There were some fantastic special effects in this movie. 
 *The movie's stars were some of the most talented 
  actos in Hollywood. 
 *It probably would be nominated for several awards. 
 *Many of the members of their Christian church had even 
  seen the movie and said it wasn't "very bad." 

They then said that, since there were more pros than cons 
the teens said they were asking their father to reconsider 
his position on just this ONE movie and let them have 
permission to go see it. 

The father looked at the list and thought for a few minutes. 
He said he could tell his children had spent some time and 
thought on this request.  He asked if he could have a day 
to think about it before making his decision. 

The teens were thrilled thinking, "Now we've got him! 
Our argument is too good!  Dad can't turn us down!" 

So, they happily agreed to let him have a day to think 
about their request. 

The next evening the father called his three teenagers, 
who were smiling smugly, into the living room. 

There on the coffee table he had a plate of brownies. 

The teens were puzzled. 

The father told his children he had thought about their 
request and had decided that if they would eat one of 
these brownies, then he would let them go to the movie. 

But, he explained,  just like the movie, the brownies 
had pros and cons. 

The pros were: 
 *They were made with the finest chocolate and other 
  good ingredients. 
 *They had the added special effect of yummy walnuts in them. 
 *The brownies were moist and fresh with wonderful 
  chocolate frosting on top. 
 *He had made these fantastic brownies using an 
  award-winning recipe. 
 *And best of all, the brownies had been made lovingly 
  by the hand of their own father. 

The brownies only had one con: 
 *He had included a little bit of a special ingredient. 
  The brownies also contained just a little bit of dog 
  poop.  But he had mixed the dough well and they 
  probably would not even be able to taste the dog poop 
  and he had baked it at 350 degrees so any bacteria or 
  germs from the dog poop had probably been destroyed. 

Therefore, if any of his children could stand to eat the 
brownies which included just a "little bit of crap" and 
not be affected by it, then he knew they would also be 
able to see the movie with "just a little bit of smut" 
and not be affected. 

Of course, none of the teens would eat the brownies 
and the smug smiles had left their faces. 

Only Dad was smiling smugly as they left the room. 

Now when his teenagers ask permission to do something 
he is opposed to the father just asks, "Would you like 
me to whip up a batch of my special brownies?"