Third Shift

[Mikiesboy]

I think Cory was ready to try.  In fact, I'd argue he needed to make the effort to get past it.  In my mind, Sandy and Casey really care for Cory.  The relationship had been done for quite some time.  The prologue was the end of the relationship.  That's what Sandy was talking on the phone about.  The Witch of November started this chain of events.  Thanks!!!

I think they care about Cory, it's easier for them, they are new and exciting, Cory was left behind, the rug pulled out, so to speak. The whole thing is sad. I hope Cory finds someone to lean on.

[AC Benus]

Hmmm...I just noticed the date on the tombstone in your story image (the one you are using as your signature now) is exactly 3 days from now...

 

Oh.

[Cole Matthews]

Hmmm...I just noticed the date on the tombstone in your story image (the one you are using as your signature now) is exactly 3 days from now...

 

Oh.

 

 

It doesn't end in real time in three days.  We have a little more time yet before its all posted. I didn't even realize that date when I put it on the signature tile.   It would have been pretty cool to do so.  

[Cole Matthews]

One of the most interesting things I had to deal with was the idea of how we view the nature of evil.  When I started the story, I wondered this.  Is there something innocent inside us all?  Are we products of nature or nurture?  Or, are we products of our decisions, informed or not?  What do you think?

[Puppilull]

I don't know how you define evil exactly, but if hurting others mentally and physically is a sign of evil then I guess we all have both evil and good inside us. Working in the court system in Sweden, I've encountered people who've done the most terrible acts, including killing another person. What I noticed was that very, very few of these people are predominently evil. Most have such horrible background stories that their choices in life are no surprise. I only encountered a couple of people where the evil outshone the good. Those people had no 'excuse' for their actions so to speak. No problems with addiction or mental illness. No growing up in total misery.

 

So I guess I think we are generally born neither good nor bad, but are shaped that way by life. Of course most actions are a choice, but if your entire life has been terrble - is it any wonder if you make a bad decision? It's not meant as an excuse but an explanation. It's important to know the reason behind actions, because if we don't understand the motivations behind actions we can't try and prevent them. 

 

The more inexplicable evil doers are the exception to the rule. At least when it comes to doing physical harm. Untfortunately, plenty of people are selfcentered and focused too much on themselves doing 'evil' in the way they maneouver their lives to benefit them no matter the cost to other people. Since sometimes they seem unaware of what they are in fact doing, maybe it's an inherent quality of humans? 

 

Hmm... I think I'll stop my ramblings now. LOL 

[Cole Matthews]

I don't know how you define evil exactly, but if hurting others mentally and physically is a sign of evil then I guess we all have both evil and good inside us. Working in the court system in Sweden, I've encountered people who've done the most terrible acts, including killing another person. What I noticed was that very, very few of these people are predominently evil. Most have such horrible background stories that their choices in life are no surprise. I only encountered a couple of people where the evil outshone the good. Those people had no 'excuse' for their actions so to speak. No problems with addiction or mental illness. No growing up in total misery.

 

So I guess I think we are generally born neither good nor bad, but are shaped that way by life. Of course most actions are a choice, but if your entire life has been terrble - is it any wonder if you make a bad decision? It's not meant as an excuse but an explanation. It's important to know the reason behind actions, because if we don't understand the motivations behind actions we can't try and prevent them. 

 

 

 

Evil can be defined in so many ways.  I think its inherently selfish and destructive toward others.  There is a great deal of evil in the world and it doesn't all come from evil people, in my opinion.  However, there are bad seeds I think.  There are conscienceless people with voracious appetites and other people don't matter to them.  I doubt there are many of these people.  Most of us are a mix of both.  Thanks for the awesome comments.  It's a fascinating subject. 

[Mikiesboy]

Evil can be defined in so many ways.  I think its inherently selfish and destructive toward others.  There is a great deal of evil in the world and it doesn't all come from evil people, in my opinion.  However, there are bad seeds I think.  There are conscienceless people with voracious appetites and other people don't matter to them.  I doubt there are many of these people.  Most of us are a mix of both.  Thanks for the awesome comments.  It's a fascinating subject. 

I think there are bad seeds .. people that can't help themselves. I think people can change depending on what happens to them. I was a nice normal kid until i was put out of the house. The streets and the people there changed me. I did stuff that looking back I cant believe I did and I dont think I would have done them, if I stayed at home and grown up with my family.  

 

And because my fortunes changed and I dont need to be feral any longer to survive, I've changed again. 

[Cole Matthews]

I think there are bad seeds .. people that can't help themselves. I think people can change depending on what happens to them. I was a nice normal kid until i was put out of the house. The streets and the people there changed me. I did stuff that looking back I cant believe I did and I dont think I would have done them, if I stayed at home and grown up with my family.  

 

And because my fortunes changed and I dont need to be feral any longer to survive, I've changed again. 

 

 

I think learning, growing, and dealing with things made you change and assume your better nature, so to speak. I've done things I shouldn't but then realized it wasn't good for me.  I think that's one of the keys, growth and awareness of self. I think Lawson never did so. It was always someone else's fault. Thanks for your comment. Very interesting and illuminating. 

[Mikiesboy]

I think learning, growing, and dealing with things made you change and assume your better nature, so to speak. I've done things I shouldn't but then realized it wasn't good for me. I think that's one of the keys, growth and awareness of self. I think Lawson never did so. It was always someone else's fault. Thanks for your comment. Very interesting and illuminating.

 

I don't know Cole. Things I mean were violent, cruel and illegal and I ended up in jail for some things they caught me doing. Some of it I got away with. Being a victim of a bad beating, and a hospital chaplain helped me start to change. He helped me see, that i, tim, wasn't that guy who I guess I created in order to live out there. I think it happens to lots of people who are forced into impossible situations. Maybe Lawson is one of those. Don't know yet. Edited June 29, 2016 by Mikiesboy

[Cole Matthews]

I don't know Cole. Things I mean were violent, cruel and illegal and I ended up in jail for some things they caught me doing. Some of it I got away with. Being a victim of a bad beating, and a hospital chaplain helped me start to change. He helped me see, that i, tim, wasn't that guy who I guess I created in order to live out there. I think it happens to lots of people who are forced into impossible situations. Maybe Lawson is one of those. Don't know yet.

 

You changed. While you may have had help, it was you who turned your life around. That's not easy. It's why people don't do it. You did. The essence of this discussion is what you're expressing. Life is hard work. Introspection can give us growth.  You aren't expressing things I haven't heard before except you made YOU better. Not everyone I have known did so. 

[Mikiesboy]

You changed. While you may have had help, it was you who turned your life around. That's not easy. It's why people don't do it. You did. The essence of this discussion is what you're expressing. Life is hard work. Introspection can give us growth.  You aren't expressing things I haven't heard before except you made YOU better. Not everyone I have known did so. 

No you're right it isn't easy. But part of me was always determined to survive and well, to be the person my mum told me I was before she died. That had a lot to do with me taking the opportunity to change when it came. I had a lot of support though and people need that I think. I think that people like Lawson need it, a lot of it. But then so does Cory, he's not in the best of places either. 

 

We know we need the help, but seem determined not to accept it, when we need it most, so we push people away. If we're lucky we have people around us who just dont care and help us anyway.

[Cole Matthews]

Here is the bit to chew on from Beret Hansa and the depression stage of grief.  I loved Lux's reference to mental illness and grief.  I also saw Puppilull noticed Cory's detachment.  That's important.  Cory's entire viewpoint/perspective has changed.  Something in his interactions with Coolidge and Lawson shifted his thinking.  This is the metaphorical 'third shift' which has a few meanings in the story.  What is it about depression which changes things?  I know for me it means I can see things purely subjectively and about me and then there is a flash of the objective.  I wonder how others have experienced depression caused by the loss of something.  

 

Thanks for the comments!!!

[Cole Matthews]

The Story Behind Third Shift

 

Here is how the mind tricks us. 

 

Six months ago, I came upon a news story which intrigued me.  A man had been arrested for the abuse of a child he’d been babysitting.  I was appalled, as anyone would be, and couldn’t understand his motives.  How could a person abuse a child?  What would allow them to hurt a baby?  It seemed incomprehensible, so I continued to explore his story.

 

The man didn’t act like a sociopath or psychopath following the incident.  He seemed genuinely remorseful.  After he hurt the toddler, he had tried to make things better.  The man contacted his girlfriend, the mother of the child, and had even left a note when he ran away.  He was found self-mutilated and crying outside his sister’s house the next day. 

 

I couldn’t understand it.  Sure, people do bad things, but in this case, I couldn’t get past how he’d show remorse.  This wasn’t a “bad man.”  He was a person who’d done something awful and felt terrible about it.  How could someone fall into this trap?  What leads a person to hurt an innocent baby?  How do you cope with being that person? 

 

At the same time, I was dealing with my own impending loss.  My job was getting worse and worse.  I was blamed for a mistake which I didn’t make.  The situation, which I tried to handle professionally, got worse.  It snowballed.  I was miserable and knew I needed a change. 

 

I was experiencing the effects of the grieving process.  My perception was skewed.  The man who hurt the child’s viewpoint was warped.  I was drafting this story, ‘Third Shift’.  Suddenly, I got an idea about how grief was a changing lens which altered our idea of how things were.  The simple story of a man who hurt a baby changed.  It became the dual story of Lawson and his counselor, Cory.   Both were coping with a loss.

During this time, I also was reading the notes I’d made thirty years ago.  This brought back memories of my friend and I felt his death all over again.  I was imbued with the grief process.  Third Shift is the result of that immersion.

I’m quite proud of the story.  It’s not a proper linear tale.  It’s a kind of prosaic emotional expression of the grieving process.  That’s why it’s episodic.  It’s colored by the idea of shifting perceptions.  There is nothing straight forward or concrete about it.  The story is a series of examples of human behavior and reactions and moral questions. 

Why did Lawson die?  Is Cory a bad person for using him?  Are we bad people for using others as crutches?  How can we cope with killing someone or something?  What causes our behavior?  Do we make our own choices or are we a mixture of nature and nurture?  Is our behavioral programming something we can fix?  Can anyone fix it?  What is the nature of grief and do we always act in rational ways?  Where do rationality and reason meet? 

I don’t know the answers to any of these questions.  However, I enjoy the pursuit of such conundrums. 

This is the end of the Third Shift, but not of the ethical and moral quandaries posed.  I hope it makes you think.  That’s what it’s intended to do.  It’s also what happened in my head.

Thank you for indulging my queries.  I hope you found the story enjoyable and stimulating.  

[Aditus]

Wow! Letting us in into your thought process is generous and intriguing. The story felt always personal to me. Every character had something genuine and at the same time symbolic. It was as if they were real but also stood for something.

You have every right to be proud of 'Third Shift'. Well done. 

[AC Benus]

It's very good work, Cole. I've long been interested in this subject, for when I was growing up, one of the older kids in my circle was branded as 'bad' very early on. I saw and felt for him, for this view imposed from the outside clearly altered how he acted and felt. It was easy for us kids to see, but the adults (his parents) seemed oblivious and needlessly cruel. 

 

I just bumped into the attached article in print format this morning. Timing is apropos i think Plz do check it out; I find the whole field fascinating. 

Edited July 10, 2016 by AC Benus

[Cole Matthews]

Adi and Mr. Benus,

 

This story was very involved for me.  There are things impacting in our lives which haunt us and make us search inside for meaning.  This is one of those stories for me.  I hope it also makes other people think.  Art should also make us feel things.  I hope this story will give others an idea of how important it is to ruminate on it.  If not, I apologize.  I only work this hard to help.

 

Thanks for your support and comments.  Both are greatly appreciated.  

 

Cole

 

P.S.  I'd love to meet you both.  I know it's not probably, but this weekend informed me how wonderful the experience can be.  

[AC Benus]

Now that the work is complete, I see at least one subtlety not apparent to me when reading.

 

Early on, you set up that Cory had a bit of a blind spot concerning how shaky his relationship with Sandy was. (Perhaps this was more of an expression of Cory's personality to actively suppress his intuition when something's not right.) Anyway, this winds up being a perfect setup for the reveal at the end that Cory has passively or actively ignored what he knew about Coolidge, allowing himself to indulge in a fantasy about dating him.

 

Very skillfully done, Cole.

[Cole Matthews]

Thanks Mr. Benus! Yes, yes, yes, Cory is delusional. He was a mess from the beginning and never recovered. I think I just didn't do that right. It was never a story about him getting well.  

[AC Benus]

Thanks Mr. Benus! Yes, yes, yes, Cory is delusional. He was a mess from the beginning and never recovered. I think I just didn't do that right. It was never a story about him getting well.  

I don't know about the 'not doing it right.' You've played with the hero archetype the reader constructs in his or her mind, and how he must be 'heroic,' when it's always better to write and read about real people with real flaws. 

 

I think you did brilliantly.