When NCIS premiered in September 2003 with “Yankee White,” which still stands as one of the best episodes over the series’ long-run, one of the first things we learned about Mark Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the Special Agent-in-Charge, was his penchant for rules. Dubbed simply “Gibb’s Rules,” the extensive list serves as life lessons, a how-to on managing crime scenes, and a quick way to relay important information quickly during an emergency situation. With the launch of prequel series NCIS: Origins, fans are being rewarded with a look at the early career of Gibbs (played by Austin Stowell), and the genesis of those rules. The number of rules on Gibbs’ list, by his own estimate, was around 50 in Season 3, and grew to around 100 by the time Harmon left NCIS. Those rules didn’t just help his team, mind you, but viewers at home, including yours truly. In fact, I’ve found them inspiring and useful, quite honestly, but there’s one that hits especially close for me. That rule is… ah, not yet. My rule #1: Patience, readers, patience.
Gibbs’ Rules in ‘NCIS’ Are Wide-Reaching
Gibbs’ rules are wide-reaching, covering a variety of situations both professionally and personally. Some should go without saying, promoting a common sense approach that is lost on many people. So, so many people. “Don’t believe what you’re told. Double-check,” is one such rule, a concept lost in a world that believes celebrities are far more knowledgeable about things like health concerns than those with multiple letters after their names, earned through years of education on such subjects.
I myself have no need for these types of rules, being the paragon of common sense that I am (thank goodness for non-disclosure agreements signed by those that could prove otherwise). However, there are a number of rules to which I can relate. “Never mess with a Marine’s coffee if you want to live,” for one. Not that I’ve ever messed with a Marine’s coffee, but I have cracked many a joke before the missus has had her first cup of coffee in the morning, and, well, let’s just say that rule now reads “never tell a joke before the first cup of coffee.” Another is “never date a coworker,” and I couldn’t agree more, which is why I married mine.
Out of All of Gibbs’ Rules on ‘NCIS,’ One Hits Home the Most for Me
Out of all of Gibbs’ rules, though, there are two that stand out from the rest for me. The first is “it’s better to seek forgiveness than ask permission.” It’s one rule that I banked on frequently, and it worked out pretty well. You will notice, though, how that sentence is in the past tense. See, the rule is quite accurate, but only up to a point. That point, if you’re curious, is after installing a bigger TV in the front room, followed by ordering and building two big-ass Lego sets (a Star Wars Imperial Star Destroyer and the Titanic). Here’s a helpful hint: keep it under $50.
But the one that hits closest is Rule #51, “Sometimes you’re wrong.” The rule is created as a result of Gibbs’ interaction with the Reynosa Cartel in an NCIS Season 7 episode, appropriately titled “Rule Fifty-One.” Now I won’t say I’m stubborn, but I know a guy, who we’ll call… Floyd. Yah, that’s the ticket. So Floyd, who is definitely not me, has been known to cling to being right about many things, and often in the face of evidence to the contrary. Only it’s not about being stubborn. It’s a little more complex, where the need to be right is married to a sense of self-worth. When I’m right, I’m good. If I’m wrong, I suck. The only way for Floyd… okay, I give, it’s me… to be at peace with that is to follow Gibbs’ wise words and admit not only that sometimes I’m wrong, but that it’s okay to be wrong. The world doesn’t fall apart, and I’m the same lovable galoot I was before I erred as I am after. I am good, and as Rule #5 states: “You don’t waste good.” Or great.