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
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Anyone that sees this much pain and suffering would go insane, just like all of Ollie's coworkers. I never really think about these people actually having lives of their own. Sometimes is easy to forget that paramedics have a life outside cutting people open. I agree that thinking all of the things these paramedics see normal, will help them do their job.
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