Summary
The book begins with Eddie’s 83rd birthday at his work place, Ruby Pier. He is the head of Maintenance at the pier. At this day he goes about his normal routine until one of the rides malfunctions. Eddie gives a fellow worker, Dominguez, instructions on how to fix the ride; however, one of the carts breaks free from the ride and falls to the pier. Eddie jumps out of the way and tries to pull a little girl out of the path of the falling cart. Eddie does not get out of the way in time and is killed by the falling coaster cart. From that point, Eddie begins his trip through heaven where he meets 5 people that have played a part in Eddie's life. From each person, he learns a lesson. Also, throughout the chapter, the book flashes back to some of Eddie's previous birthdays.
Five People
1) “The Blue Man,” In Eddie’s first stop in heaven, it is revealed that this was “The Blue Man,” or Joseph Corvelzchik. Joseph lived his life as an attraction in a freak show at Ruby Pier. One day, he spills a pile of buttons all over the floor right in front of the foreman, who tells him that he is useless and must go. As his father pleads with the foreman to let him stay, Joseph soils himself in front of the foreman, his father, and the entire industry.
His father never forgave him. As the years passed, his nervousness and incontinence persisted, further humiliating him and disappointing his father. In an act of desperation, Joseph resorted to a primitive medicinal measure — drinking silver nitrate until his skin began to change color. Eventually he found refuge with a group of carnival men, and his life as a “commodity” had begun.
He explains that when Eddie retrieved his ball from the street, although he was quite safe and sound, the Blue man wasn't. Eddie had given him a heart attack when he was driving due to a sudden halt and the Blue man was not mad at Eddie because of this, which confused Eddie. The Blue Man then taught Eddie his first lesson, that we are all somehow or another connected. Everything that we do affects what will happen to another. The Blue Man then tells him "Strangers are family you have yet to come to know", meaning that although they never met, what Eddie did affected his life from then on.
The Blue Man taught Eddie the following lesson: "There are no random acts; we are all connected."
2) When Eddie was shipped off to the Philippines during World War II, “The Captain” became Eddie’s commanding officer. He was a few years older than Eddie and his fellow men and had spent his life in the military, as did three generations of his family before him. His stern demeanor and quick temper were his most noticeable attributes. He made a promise to his men: no man gets left behind.
The Captain is the second person Eddie meets in heaven. Here, it is revealed that he was the one who shot Eddie in the leg, crippling him for life. However, unbeknownst to Eddie, the captain was actually saving his life, as Eddie was about to run into a burning hut, thinking he saw the shape of a small child burning in the ruins. Shortly after saving Eddie, the captain steps on a land mine and is killed. His lesson was about sacrifices.
The Captain has taught Eddie the following lesson: "Sacrifice is the noblest thing you can do."
3) Ruby, the third person he meets, goes on to tell Eddie about the near-complete destruction of Ruby Pier. For Independence Day, Emile hired extra workers and utilized fireworks to draw extra customers. However, some of the “roustabouts” were drinking one night and began setting off fireworks, causing a fire that almost burned the entire pier to the ground. In a frantic attempt to save his life’s work, Emile tried to extinguish the fire with buckets of water, and in the process was critically injured and ended up in the same hospital room with Eddie’s father. Because of this, she is able to recount to him his father’s final living moments to him. Ruby helps Eddie understand the importance of forgiveness.
4) Marguerite, his wife was the fourth person he met. They had a happy, loving marriage even though they could not have children. They were planning to adopt a child until the events of Eddie's 39th birthday. That day he won $800 at the track and called Marguerite to tell her the good news. However, she did not respond positively. Out of spite Eddie put all his winnings on the next race. Marguerite attempted to drive to the track to apologize for yelling at him on his birthday and to convince him to stop betting. On her way there, a couple of drunken kids dropped whiskey bottles off the freeway that landed on her car. This caused her to get in a car crash that lacerated her liver and broke her arm. The cost of the medical bills and her health issues made them ineligible to adopt.
After that tragic event, Eddie and Marguerite's marriage changed. They often sat in silence that was permeated by sullen tension. As time passed, however, they were eventually able to overcome their emotional disconnection and became loving companions once again. However, only a few years later, Marguerite died of a brain tumor. She was the fourth person Eddie met.
Marguerite teaches Eddie that, even though she had died, their love never went away; it just took a different form.
5)During the war, Eddie was held captive in the Philippines by a troop of Japanese soldiers. After he and his fellow captives were able to escape, he set fire to their barracks. As he watched a straw hut burn to the ground, he thought he saw the shape of a small child inside and thought he heard screaming. Unsure if what he saw was real or a hallucination, he tried to run into the burning hut to save the child but was stopped, shot in the leg by his captain, thus saving Eddie's life. After talking with his Captain, Eddie believes he did have a hallucination and there was no child. However, when he meets Tala, his fifth person, she reveals to him that she was the shadow he saw run into the huts.
Tala allows Eddie to see that through his remorse and grief for his mistake that his life did have a purpose: to maintain the safety of each person that came to Ruby Pier. Because of Eddie's watchful eye when it came to maintaining rides, lives- born and unborn- were saved because he kept them safe. He washed her in a pond with a magical rock that wiped away her burns.
Five Lessons were learned:
1)There are no random acts; we are all connected
2) Sacrifice is the noblest thing you can do
3) Importnce of forgiveness and that we do not see the whole story.
4) Love in life never ends but does change
5)Every Life has a purpose and that purpose affects others
Questions in Jewish halacha and hashchafa
1) We are all connected
2) Can one risk their lives or sacrifice for another. Can one injure someone to save their life and what is their responsibility
3) Forgiveness and not seeing the whole story
4)What happeneds after we dies
5) Giving the benefit of the doubt.
