Week 4 Questions

[Ed_ODell]

All,

I'm travelling tomorrow, so I figured I'd get these up tonight. Where did this last week go? I swear I'm gonna have to have a "private discussion" with Father Time, with hopes of him slowing things down a bit.

Week 4 Questions

1). What was Mike doing when he heard a loud noise resonate through the house?

2). In what order did Eddie want his beatings? Why do you think he wanted them in that order?

3). When Eddie showed Mike the watch, what time was displaying?

4). List Mike's four foster families in order: Gibson, Vanderwier, Simmons, Phares.

5). What did Mike think of his first foster mom? Why?

6). Why did Mike do to get removed from the Gibson family?

7). Describe Old Man Simmons. What do you think of Mike taking his revenge out on Mr. Simmons' son, rather than on Old Man Simmons himself?

8). What did Eddie see in Uncle Charlie? What did he see in Aunt Marilee?

9). What did Mike see in his aunt's eyes as she stood in the doorway of the bathroom?

10). Why do you think Mike didn't escape into the night?

11). What was Mike's "ace in the hole?"

12). What are your feelings toward Aunt Marilee and Uncle Charlie?

13). Without providing a spoiler, how did the ending strike you? Do you think Mike has finally found peace? Why or why not?

Points to ponder: answer if you wish.

Chapter 15 provides a bit of social commentary on foster care. Have you ever been or considered becoming a foster parent? Did this chapter make you look at the system any differently? Why or why not?

Chapter 16 was not meant to shock, although it does seem to leave most readers stunned. But, to use the phrase I hate most, "it is what it is." It was a different time and place, one where adults were the rule of law, while children were, well, children. Do you think Mike's life would have turned out any differently if those events took place today, some 34 years later? Why or why not?

[Roxie]

Week 4 Questions

1). What was Mike doing when he heard a loud noise resonate through the house?
He was working on a puzzle at the table.

2). In what order did Eddie want his beatings? Why do you think he wanted them in that order?
Eddie wanted to get his beating over with so he always wanted to go first.

3). When Eddie showed Mike the watch, what time was displaying?
A little more than half past eight.

4). List Mike's four foster families in order: Gibson, Vanderwier, Simmons, Phares.
Phares, Vanderwier, Gibson, Simmons.

5). What did Mike think of his first foster mom? Why?
He thought she was kind because she bought him sympathy gifts. She and her husband never yelled at him or hit him.

6). Why did Mike do to get removed from the Gibson family?
Mike put a black snake in the bed of the 14 year old Gibson boy in the middle of the night.

7). Describe Old Man Simmons. What do you think of Mike taking his revenge out on Mr. Simmons' son, rather than on Old Man Simmons himself?
Mr. Simmons is a religious man. He enjoys hurting Mike and laughs about it with his son. Mike took his revenge out on the son because he wanted Mr. Simmons to know that each time that he hurt Mike that Mike in turn would hurt the son. I think Mike knew he had a much better chance against the son then against the father.


8). What did Eddie see in Uncle Charlie? What did he see in Aunt Marilee?
Eddie thought that Charlie enjoyed causing the boys pain. He thought that Charlie showed joy in his eyes when he saw the boys were in pain. Eddie thought that Aunt Marilee appeared harmless but that she really wasn’t.

9). What did Mike see in his aunt's eyes as she stood in the doorway of the bathroom?
Mike saw evil in her soul. She did nothing to stop what was happening.

10). Why do you think Mike didn't escape into the night?
I think he wanted to believe his aunt when she said that it would never happen again. Maybe he was also in shock over what happened.


11). What was Mike's "ace in the hole?"
His ace in he whole was that his dad would be visiting in the morning and his aunt was unaware of the visit.


12). What are your feelings toward Aunt Marilee and Uncle Charlie?
I hope that they are both rotting in jail. They are despicable human beings.

13). Without providing a spoiler, how did the ending strike you? Do you think Mike has finally found peace? Why or why not?
Stunned is putting it mildly. I even checked the version of the book that I have on ADE to make sure that I wasn’t missing any pages. I sat in utter shock on my sofa until my husband asked me what was wrong. When I was telling him about the book the tears that I was holding in finally shed. I have thought about the ending of this book numerous times since I have finished it.
I can only hope that Mike has finally found some peace.


Chapter 16 was not meant to shock, although it does seem to leave most readers stunned. But, to use the phrase I hate most, "it is what it is." It was a different time and place, one where adults were the rule of law, while children were, well, children. Do you think Mike's life would have turned out any differently if those events took place today, some 34 years later? Why or why not?
I am not sure if Mike’s life would have turned out differently if he had grown up now rather than 34 years before. I think that the definition of child abuse is much broader now, but I think that parents are still getting away with abusing their children. I also think that abuse is running rampant in the foster care system. I hope that more adults, like neighbors, teachers, and family members, would get involved so that kids are pulled out of these horrible situations.

Thank you for sharing your book with us!! I am looking forward to hearing updates on all those involved.

[Paul]

Sorry, late again! These past couple of week ahve really been hectic, so I'm behind on my reading. I'll answer these as I finish up the last chapter...

Week 4 Questions

1). What was Mike doing when he heard a loud noise resonate through the house? Working on a jigsaw puzzle.

2). In what order did Eddie want his beatings? Why do you think he wanted them in that order? He wanted his first so he could get it over with and not have to watch someone else get a beating.

3). When Eddie showed Mike the watch, what time was displaying? I was a bit after 8:30.

4). List Mike's four foster families in order: Gibson, Vanderwier, Simmons, Phares. Phares, Vanderwier, Gibson, and Simmons

5). What did Mike think of his first foster mom? Why? We talking about Mrs Phares or Mrs Vanderwier? I think he liked Mrs. Phares because she seemed saddened by his childhood experiences and showered him with sympathy gifts. Mrs. Vanderwier, on the other hand was lazy and just wanted a slave to clean her house. Mike obviously did not care much for her being as he took every opportunity to shower her with hot coffee!

6). Why did Mike do to get removed from the Gibson family? Because he took revenge against one of the Gibson boys (who used him as a punching bag) by putting a big black snake in his bed in the middle of the night.

7). Describe Old Man Simmons. A Bi-Polar psychopath! What do you think of Mike taking his revenge out on Mr. Simmons' son, rather than on Old Man Simmons himself? He did what he had to do. There was no way he would have gotten his attention or inflict pain on Simmons himself without coming out on the short end of the stick. I think he did what he felt was right and inflicted the greatest amount of pain as he could as quickly as he could.

8). What did Eddie see in Uncle Charlie? A mean son-of-a-bitch who took pleasure in inflicting pain upon others. What did he see in Aunt Marilee? He sensed she wasn’t the nice old lady they had come to know, he saw the evil within…

9). What did Mike see in his aunt's eyes as she stood in the doorway of the bathroom? Evil

10). Why do you think Mike didn't escape into the night? I don’t think he was physically able after what he had been through and he was definitely scared of falling victim to a bobcat or bear if he left in the middle of the night. Looking back, I think he’d of fared better taking his chance with the wild animals!

11). What was Mike's "ace in the hole?" The fact he Dad was supposed to come visit on Saturday and his Aunt did not know it.

12). What are your feelings toward Aunt Marilee and Uncle Charlie? If they aren’t already rotting in jail, I hope to **** they are rotting under it!

13). Without providing a spoiler, how did the ending strike you? I saw it coming, I didn’t know how it would happen, but it did not surprise me! Do you think Mike has finally found peace? Why or why not? I believe he is much peaceful now. After what he went through I doubt he would have led a very peaceful life and would probably end up in jail or a mental institution. He is free no and no one will ever hurt him again…

Points to ponder: answer if you wish.

Chapter 15 provides a bit of social commentary on foster care. Have you ever been or considered becoming a foster parent? Did this chapter make you look at the system any differently? Why or why not? Being a criminal investigator most of my adult life, I have seen many atrocious things. Being affiliated with the military, the incidents were tame in comparison, but you still hear the stories when socializing with the local counterpart agencies. Foster Care is broken, and unfortunately, it seems the majority of people who gravitate toward being Foster Parents do so for the wrong reasons. Mainly money, but you also get the criminally insane who feel the need to exploit children. I have never been a Foster Parent, and can’t say I really ever considered it. Mostly because being on Active duty while raising our two children, I didn’t feel we had the means to support any more children than we had, and would not take on such an endeavor without being able to do it right.

Chapter 16 was not meant to shock, although it does seem to leave most readers stunned. But, to use the phrase I hate most, "it is what it is." It was a different time and place, one where adults were the rule of law, while children were, well, children. Do you think Mike's life would have turned out any differently if those events took place today, some 34 years later? Why or why not? We’ll never really know how Mike would turn out because we don’t know what would have happened had he escaped. Would he have been beaten by the old man? Would the next Foster Home be worse (that seemed to be the trend)? Some questions just can’t be answered.

Having said that, I do have one question… Given the final outcome, how did you know the events leading up to the final act? Just curious how these facts were disclosed.

Thank you for sharing such an insightful and sensitive part of your life. This had to have been a very difficult book to right, and I hope the pain and disclosure you endured while writing it had some therapeutic resolve and you found some small amount of healing as a result. It definitely wasn’t the most enjoyable book I have read, but it was well worth the time I invested in reading it. I also appreciate the opportunity to have read it as part of this Group, the interaction and feedback only added to the experience! Thank you and I hope you and your family find peace and happiness!