The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.
Henry David Thoreau said that. Now I’ll be the first to admit that reading On Walden Pond was one of the worst assignments I ever had as an English major. My professor (yeah I still remember her lecture) told us that Walden was not a memoir, but more of a fictionalized compression of Thoreau’s actual two year stay at the pond. I remember taking just enough notes to survive the essay test. Aside from picking up a few good quotes, it would qualify as one of those days in the life I’d like to forget. Believe me, I’ve had more than my share of those through the years. But every now and then, I’d have a good one.
Did you ever sit and think how many of those bad days we have to get through just to get to the good stuff? But what constitutes one of those really good days?
I remember the ending scene in Harper, one of my favorite movies. Paul Newman is Lew Harper, the downtrodden private eye just who’s cracked the biggest case of his career, but now knows his best friend, Albert Graves (played by Arthur Hill) is the killer. They ride along in Hill’s car and Newman confronts Hill about the real killer.
“As a lawyer,” Hill says defensively, “I have to tell you your proof is pretty insubstantial… I’d be perfectly safe in a court of law.”
“This ain’t a court of law,” Newman replies. “Just a couple of buddies out for a spin discussing the events of the day.”
Newman asks Hill how he could have fallen so far.
“You know, when we first met you were gonna push your way all the way up to be governor of this great and powerful state of California,” he says.
Hill fires back at Newman, ridiculing his once lofty aspirations to become “the greatest defender of justice that the great and powerful state of California ever had. How does it feel to be popping your flash bulbs in dirty little motel rooms, spying on the cheaters?”
“Yeah, well, things just don’t turn out the way we plan, do they?” Newman says. “I had a total of about eight pretty disgusting months last year. But then I had five or six really good weeks . . . for those five or six weeks I really felt alive.”
Newman says, effectively telling Hill that he knows he’s essentially a failure, but he still has that his code of honor makes it impossible for him not to turn Hill in.
“So all I can do,” Newman says, “is do the dirty job all the way down the line.”
“I understand why you have to turn me in,” Hill says as they approach the end of their drive. “Do you understand why I can’t let you?”
Newman says he does understand. “Oh yeah. You still got the gun?”
Hill nods.
“Then you’d better use it before I get to that door,” Newman says as he starts to get out of the car.
It’s the emotional climax to the film and the freeze-frame ending that follows is one of the great movie endings of all time. (That dialogue, by the way, was written by one of the all-time greats, William Goldman. Do yourself a favor and get the DVD and listen to his commentary as you watch the movie.)
Haven’t we all had some really good days interspersed between longer runs of mundane ones? Ah, but the joy of those days when something really memorable happens. They’re sweet, like fresh strawberries dipped in pure sugar. And they provide the context for some really great story ideas.
How many times have we seen the movie where the ordinary guy whose mundane existence gets turned on its head when he gets caught up in the adventure of a lifetime? I’m talking about guys like Walter Mitty, Roger Thornhill, and even “The Fugitive” himself, Dr. Richard Kimble.
But most of the time our days tend to settle into varying levels of mediocrity. And that’s the way it should be. Even the guys of Seal Team 6 don’t run at full speed twenty-four/seven. Life isn’t meant to be as hectic as a TV show. Even McGarrett and company on Hawaii Five-0 get to take their summer break. (You’ll have to excuse me. I’m watching the season finale as I write this. I wonder how Steve is going to get out of this one?) The real heroes are the ones who get up day after day and simply do their jobs without complaining and asking for special favors or treatment.
I spent countless hours in my patrol car when I was a cop, battling boredom and cruising the streets through the wee hours, knowing that even if nothing happened--- no car chases, fights, shootings, etc.--- I was still keeping a lid on things with my presence. How many bad guys did I cruise by who might have thought twice about committing that crime when they saw the marked squad car? Nobody knows.
I’ve had my share of real-life excitement as well, and I learned to appreciate those periods of tranquil mediocrity. So a day in the life? Now I just enjoy the slow periods where I have time to sit down and enjoy watching all those other guys leading their lives of quiet desperation.
I ended my first novel, A Killing Frost, with the protagonist, private investigator Ron Shade, reflecting on the weather, the case he’s just cracked, the loss of his friend, and life in general. I think it was one of my best lines, although I didn’t realize how true it was until years after I’d written it.
After all, without a few bad times, would we really appreciate the good ones?
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PS: Talking about having a few really good days in your life, the PSWA (Public Safety Writers Association) conference in Las Vegas at the Orleans Hotel July 14-17 is shaping up nicely. You can hear more about what’s real and what’s not, mingle with some experts in law enforcement and other fields, and meet some really good writers and nice people. Best of all, you don’t’ have to be in public service to attend. The early bird discount has been extended, so hurry and sign up.
Michael, That was a great line! Yes, if every day in a life were all highs (or all lows) human beings would suffer. We're hard-wired to notice and respond to change, which signals danger or opportunity. I can see where that would serve cops very well.
Posted by: Susan C Shea | May 23, 2011 at 02:44 PM
I'll have to find Harper on Netflix. And I've also noted that when life gets hectic, I'm also more appreciative of the "boring" times. :-) Nice post!
Posted by: Ann | May 23, 2011 at 09:59 PM