You Gotta Be Wise

Rodney Rathbone's rock band, the Bones of Wrath, becomes an overnight sensation in Odyssey - and newspaper editor Dale Jacobs is horrified to find his daughter Robyn blasting the tape in her room. Songs like "Who Needs Parents?" and "Razorblade Rag" throw the whole town into an uproar: angry phone calls, a tape-burning bonfire, and mobs of screaming kids chasing Rodney everywhere he goes. When Dale orders Robyn to trash her tape and poster, it sparks the biggest fight the two have ever had. Heartbroken and confused, Robyn turns to Whit, who shows her she knows every word by heart... and that whatever she feeds her mind is what grows. Father and daughter apologize at the same moment, sealing their peace with a hug just as a riot breaks out at Rodney's tape signing. There Dale calms the crowd with a better idea than burning tapes - go home and teach your kids to think for themselves - while Rodney's accordion solo empties the parking lot and finishes the Bones of Wrath for good.

Found on It All Started When... Album 13 · 13 episodes

The run See every episode

0173 A Thanksgiving Carol When Eugene claims God has nothing to do with modern Thanksgiving, Whit and the gang set out to prove what the "thanks" is really about - by staging their own classic holiday tale on Kids Radio.

0174 Where's Your Daddy? A struggling mother and her two children, new to Odyssey and hiding a painful secret, find unexpected kindness at Whit's End as Christmas approaches.

0175 East, Winds Raining On Pearl Harbor Day, old Joe Finneman finally tells his great-niece what he saw in Honolulu on December 7, 1941 - and why his best friend, a Japanese American codebreaker, is the reason he can't hate anyone for that day.

1 of 2 0176 The Star A trip through the Imagination Station's new Christmas adventure separates Connie and Eugene in the ancient world, where each finds an unexpected guide on the road to the Christ child - and to King Herod's Jerusalem.

2 of 2 0177 The Star While Connie helps care for a very special newborn in Bethlehem, Eugene arrives in Jerusalem with three star-following magi - and their search for a newborn king draws the dangerous attention of King Herod.

0178 Room Mates When a college fumigation leaves Eugene homeless for a week, his distant cousin Bernard takes him in - and two stubborn know-it-alls discover just how hard sharing a house and a window-washing job can be.

0179 You Gotta Be Wise When a shock-rock cassette by local bad boy Rodney Rathbone sweeps through Odyssey, newspaper editor Dale Jacobs finds the battle over its lyrics landing squarely in his own daughter's bedroom.

0180 Isaac the Pure After a round of after-school jokes leaves him feeling dirty inside, a boy sets out to make himself completely pure - no matter what it costs him.

0181 It Takes Integrity When a cynical schemer runs unopposed for student body president, an idealistic school reporter enters the race to prove that integrity still matters in politics.

0182 The Scales of Justice When two thousand dollars in found cash sparks a courtroom showdown at Whit's End, Isaac must prove the money is rightfully his against the scheming Rathbones.

0183 Tales of Moderation When Connie asks why a wealthy man like Whit lives so simply, he hands her a book of three tales that make the case for moderation better than he ever could.

0184 Isaac the Chivalrous When a legendary knight steps out of the Imagination Station and into modern-day Odyssey, young Isaac gets a firsthand - and unexpectedly challenging - lesson in what chivalry really means.

0185 A Question of Loyalty When shy newcomer Emily's hidden writing talent blossoms under Lucy's mentorship, a countywide newspaper contest puts their new friendship to the test.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 4 more roles

1 featured character

Newscaster Bob Luttrell

3 supporting roles

Marty (a) Erv Immerman Dale's assistant Actor Unknown Marty Murfy Erv Immerman

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Paul McCusker Writer · Producer Chuck Bolte Director · Executive Producer Dave Arnold Sound Designer · Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 3 min

John Avery Whittaker tells the story of the Bones of Wrath, a rock band that turns the whole town of Odyssey upside down for about a day.

It begins when Dale Jacobs, editor of the Odyssey Times, finds his daughter Robyn up in her room with headphones on, blasting the first cassette by the Bones of Wrath - Rodney Rathbone's band, released on Bart Rathbone's own record label. Robyn insists she just likes the music and never listens to the words, but when Dale reads the printed lyrics - titles like "Who Needs Parents?" and "Razorblade Rag" - he is shocked by the offensive language and ideas, and he decides to look into it both as an editor and as a father.

Bart shrugs off Dale's concerns, since the tapes are selling, and an interview with Rodney goes nowhere; the new "artist" claims that whatever people take from his songs is none of his business. Meanwhile the town boils over. Angry parents flood Dale's office with calls, Marty Murphy organizes a bonfire to burn the tapes, and mobs of screaming kids chase Rodney everywhere he goes. When Dale learns that Robyn tried to get Rodney's autograph and has a Bones of Wrath poster on her wall, he explodes and orders her to get rid of the tape and the poster. It becomes the biggest fight the two of them have ever had, and afterward they each cry alone.

Dale reluctantly covers the bonfire for the paper, and when Marty hands him the megaphone he admits he cannot support it - burning tapes and records just isn't the answer. The next day Robyn pours out her confusion to Whit at Whit's End. Whit gently shows her that she does know the lyrics by heart, and explains the battle inside every person between the spirit and the flesh - whichever side gets fed grows stronger. That is why the Bible, in Philippians 4:8, says to think on what is true, honorable, pure, and lovely, and why she needs wisdom and discernment about everything she watches and listens to. He also mentions that her dad stopped by to borrow Whit's copy of the tape.

Robyn hurries to her father's office, where the two apologize at the same time. Dale admits he overreacted and should have listened to the tape with her so they could judge it together, and Robyn admits that buying it wasn't wise in the first place. Their peace is sealed with a hug - just as word comes that a riot has broken out at Rodney's tape signing. At Rathbone's Electric Palace, Bart and Marty are bellowing insults at each other through megaphones until Dale steps in. Ripping tapes out of kids' hands teaches them nothing, he tells the crowd; parents need to go home, get face to face with their children, and teach them to think and discern for themselves. The crowd disperses, to Bart's horror - if people start thinking about this stuff, they won't buy it. Rodney then announces he has fired his band to go solo and launches into a free-form accordion version of "Razorblade Rag," which empties the parking lot and sends him straight back to the stockroom.

Whit closes the story by noting that the Bones of Wrath were an overnight sensation that barely lasted through the next day, but everyone learned to be wise about what they watch and listen to - and the Jacobs family, in particular, learned to sit down together and measure it all against one standard: God's Word. Hopefully, he adds, it's an idea other families will try too.