S4E8 “Charity Case”
This week’s episode deals with charity causes and sibling love. At work, Dre has been selected to handle the company’s charitable events. Now, Dre being Dre, he gives back, but doesn’t necessarily like to get involved. When he gets home, Dre discusses the new assignment with Bow. And she confirms that he doesn’t like to get involved and likes to handle everything via check. He acts shocked and gets all defensive and accuses her of not being hands on. However, he seems to forget that she has helped children in Honduras by fixing deformities. He was occupied with March Madness and doesn’t even remember.
Bow then decides that Dre should give back by taking some of his clothes down to the homeless shelter to donate them. Well Dre decides to hand them over to a guy he sees lying on a bench to avoid going to the shelter. The next day, while driving with his friend, his friend mistakes the homeless man for Dre because the man is wearing Dre’s clothes. And now Janine thinks the homeless man really is Dre. Janine offers her unwanted help and won’t listen to reason. In the meantime, Dre is freaking out that the homeless guy resembles him, he decides to take his donated clothes back. He buys the man some generic clothes and when he places them in his basket, he comes across a pic of the man and a little girl. Possibly his daughter. And it dawns on Dre that this man could be him and Dre could be the man. He ends up buying him a cup of coffee and getting to know the man. Dre realized then that giving to those less fortunate is not such a bad thing after all.
While Dre and Bow are dealing with his inability to be hands on Dre comes to the conclusion that the reason why he was so afraid of the homeless is because he is scared of living that way again. Also, Jr is trying to figure out the best way to win the hearts of his younger siblings since he failed his drivers test. In his defense, Dre was the one who taught him. So, instead he enlists the help of his grandmother to win over the twins. But, upon hearing what he has planned they are less than thrilled. Forced to tag along, they head to the Science Center, all the while be compared to Zoe. She is basically the super hero to the twins that Jr wants to be.
However, being over-cautious, has turned the trip into and even worse adventure. Jr, stops at a gas station to refill the car and hits another vehicle when he opens the door. He feels he needs to leave a note and ends up breaking the wiper. Jr then insists that they have to wait until the driver comes back before they leave. While waiting they decide to explore and run across and orange and t-shirt stand. By the time they realize the vehicle is booted and the owner is probably not coming back, the Science Center is closed, and Junior decides the trip is a bust and they head home. Bow is waiting for him and he tells her what happened and how he is disappointed for not being their hero. The twins let him know that they learned a lot and they want to go other places with him.
This episode kind of hits home. Growing up in similar circumstances as a kid. But in the end, we all know what it feels like to not have anything or to lose everything. Sometimes a kind smile, a hot meal, or even a new shirt can make someone who feels like trash, feel like a human again. And most of all, if you’re able to give back, do it and try to do it often. Giving is always better than receiving.
