Black Flies Post #6

In this last section of Black Flies Ollie's character finally comes together to make a delightfully happy ending. Earlier in his career Ollie applied to college for a medical degree and was denied, but this year he tried again. He studied for a very long time and took the test, and passed. Although he was only being a paramedic as a filler until the year when he was accepted to college he was hesitant to say yes. He felt a strange bond to the job that he once dreaded and didn't know if he could stop. I find this very interesting and a huge example of character development. At the beginning Ollie hated the job and wanted to quit, but after seeing the difference that he makes in the world, he really began to enjoy his work. This job opened his eyes to the real world and gave him and life experience that not many people have the chance to experience. This job is disgusting and traumatizing but the way of life that Ollie had to conform to taught him about not only himself but about the society that he was living in. The book ends while Ollie was on a job, attempting to save a girl in a flooding building he was thinking about his future, and then and there he knew that he had to go to medical school. Right after he made this crucial decision he found his patient, the girl. He looked at her and noticed, "Impossibly pale skin, mouth open, eyes staring blankly in the dim, flickering light- she was dead" (180). He knew that he had to act fast to if he wanted the chance to save her, and his partner wasn't responding to him. So he got out the shocker paddles and after multiple tries she finally came back to life, Ollie had finally earned his save badge. His job gives out badges for achievements that the paramedics do. Although earlier in his career he had saved a patient, he needed help from Rutkovsky so it didn't count, but for this girl he saved the twelve-year-old girl all by himself. I was very pleased when Ollie finally succeeded. He has been working extremely hard, putting up with the taunting, and has devoted his life to his work and it was a spectacular ending to have him finally reach his goal. Although many of his coworkers haven't been taunting him in the past couple of months, they didn't fully respect him, until he received his save badge. The final theme of this book is that if you work hard, and have the drive to accomplish something, you can do it. I'm a strong believer in this theme and it was the perfect ending to this gross yet fabulous story.

Burke, Shannon. Black Flies. New York: Soft Skull P, 2008.*Black Flies should be underlined

Black Flies Post #5

In this section of Black Flies by Shannon Burke the job and mental aspect effects Rutkovsky mentally. One hot summer day the men are called to help a mother that is giving birth to a "still born" baby, this woman is a crack addict, takes methodome, is HIV positive, and is giving birth to her baby two months early. When they men get there the baby is born and Rutkovsky says the baby is dead, while he is dealing with the baby Ollie is talking to the mother. The baby is taken down to the ambulance where another paramedic determines that "the dead baby is breathing" (117). Soon later Rutkovsky is fired, all the men are questioned but Ollie says he saw nothing and he was talking to the mom the whole time. The job began to get to Rutkovsky and ultimately altered his thinking. He always wanted the patient to live and to be comfortable but at this moment he didn't want the baby to have to live in that sort of environment. Although he had a "valid" reason for his actions this is extremely out of character for him, and really shows how the job has effected him immensely. A few weeks later the paramedics get a call to help a man in a park that had shot himself, it was Rutkovsky. The fact that he didn't have his job anymore and the things he had seen changed him and his view on life completely. He wasn't able to deal with all the tragic things he had seen so he killed himself. His coworkers thought that the way he killed himself in a "joking" way, he shot himself in a way that would ruin his face, and in a park that he knew his friends would respond too. The job of being a paramedic took a huge toll on Rutkovsky's and every other mans life as well. I really hope that this job doesn't do the same for Ollie. I think that the job that these men are doing is extremely honorable and selfless. They are willing to give up everything to help people and a community that they aren't affiliated with at all. This job takes a huge toll on theses men and women's lives, and they aren't commended enough for the amazing work that they do. The things that they experience are tragic and no one should ever have to see that but they deal with it with care and sophistication.

Burke, Shannon. Black Flies. New York: Soft Skull P, 2008.*Black Flies should be underlined

Black Flies Post #4

In this section of the book Back Flies by Shannon Burke, Ollie has began to fit in with his coworkers, but what he calls "normal" has dramatically changed. After working the job and proving himself to his coworkers, Ollie is now accepted and almost liked by the other men. He is teased no more than any other guy, and is seeming to enjoy his gruesome and peculiar job. One this that is apparent in all the paramedics is that they all seem to have gone a little bit crazy. Not only has Ollie changed what he finds normal but all the paramedics have. One day Ollie realizes "Of knowing without even thinking about it the progression of lividity, rigo mortis, and gradual decay. And all of this the normal routine of our day" (91). Here Ollie is admitting that all the crazy and disgusting things that he sees are now what he finds normal. I find this weird but also a sort of dedication to the job. No one should ever find organs falling out of a body normal, but when they do there is something very wrong with the situation. Although this is disgusting I find this very dedicating to the job. Not everyone would be able to deal with the terrible things that these men see, and by changing what they find as the "norm" they are then able to deal with what they must to ensure that they will do their best work and ultimately save lives. Not only are these men changing their views on the world but they are also becoming a tad bit insane and proceed to act in very strange ways. First of any one who finds bone sticking out of a wound or seeing a brain normal to a days work there's something very wrong in your head. Yet these men then do very weird things, like talking to everyone through a puppet. Marmol, one of Ollies coworkers, says with his puppet " 'Talk to Papi!' Marmol said. Then with they puppet, 'Whats the pain feel like?' " (92). Marmol was trying to keep his mind off of the diet that he was on so he decided to talk to everyone, including the patients, through a puppet named Papi. "Normal" people don't talk to others through a puppet, well unless their clowns. This job effects not only the time that these men have but it changes their minds and how they see the world. This book is very intriguing due to the fact that I have never heard a story of a paramedic, and I never knew that how much of an effect it could have on these honorable men's lives.

Burke, Shannon. Black Flies. New York: Soft Skull P, 2008.*Black Flies should be underlined

Black Flies Post #3

In this section of the book Black Flies, Ollie is starting his third week as a paramedic and is beginning to understand how the job works. Ollie is clearly the one to pick on at the station but he is beginning to realize that he isn't the only person who isn't well liked. There is another man, Phelps, who had been working at the station for eight months, is a very kind nice man who loves his job and is thrilled by it as well. Due to this happiness and eagerness to be at work the other men aren't fond of him and always give him a hard time. One day Phelps's partner put a transfer slip in Phelps's mail box. A transfer slip is a form the workers fill out and give to their partner if they aren't happy with what their partner is doing. Phelps's partner wasn't fond of Phelps and didn't want to work with him any more, so he filled out a transfer slip and gave it to Phelps. When Ollie sees this he knows that it's not the right thing to do because Phelps is a good worker and loves his job, yet due to Ollie's status at the station he wasn't allowed to interfere with the situation. This transfer slip is rude and extremely embarrassing for Phelps, but unfortunately his coworkers didn't stop there, in addition they put a dead maggoty dog in the front seat of his car. Ollie returns home that night and talks it all over with his girlfriend, Clara. Clara got in to med school, while Ollie did not. Clara believes that Ollie is an amazing medic, but he didn't get in to school because he wasn't confident. Clara isn't fond of Ollie's new job because she thinks it's not helping him become more confident, so Clara tells Ollie that if he wants the other guys to like him he has to give them something to like and respect. The next day at work Ollie and Rutkovsky see a boy walking down the street with a trail of blood and a dog following him. While the other medic's help bandage the boy's wound Ollie goes to check on the dog. They had successfully locked the dog inside a parking lot, and the friend of he injured boy was about to shoot the dog when Ollie walked in. Ollie took out a sandwich and gave the dog pieces of it, and soon the dog let Ollie grab him by the collar. The police took the dog away and the owner of the dog came to the scene. The man was crazy only caring about his dog, and not apologizing to the boy or thanking Ollie Cross. While the EMT's were standing there Rutkovsky told Ollie good job, but rather than calling him his nickname, Coroner, he called him Cross. After this name change every one had a little more respect for Ollie, changing his situation. At the beginning of this section Ollie was insecure with himself, and this attitude radiated off of him giving his co-workers a reason and opportunity to make fun of him, but by the end of this section he proved himself on the job. Ollie was brave enough to take care of the dog rather than killing it, and this action earned him respect. No one else wanted to even go near the dog. but because Ollie had the strength to confront the dog showed his partner that he was serious and was confident. Ollie also realized that he wasn't the only guy on the job who was getting a hard time, but he did realize that he could control it. He proved himself to everyone and created a better environment for himself at work. Hopefully Cross will now have and easier time at work, and will be able to stay this confident and continue to progress in his work otherwise he will never have a chance at getting into med school and possibly becoming a doctor at a hospital. I'm very happy to see that Cross is learning to adapt to his new environment and learning how to deal with all the obstacles that he faces while working in Harlem.

Burke, Shannon. Black Flies. New York: Soft Skull P, 2008.*Black Flies should be underlined