The Thief - by Jessc3

Perhaps I am just thick but I read that as the beggar killing the snobby man. He then became a thief by stealing the woman's purse. I do not think there was a hidden message in that bit. I await correction.

Oh, my gaaawwwwwd! I did miss a major point, didn't I? I'll have to look at that again - no, I don't think was anything 'hidden' at all.

I agree with Stormy. As a student of the subconscious (and with qualifications to boot) I'm sure there are no hidden, subliminal meanings. I believe The Thief is a story - an excellent one by the way - but simply a story. No metaphores. However I stand to be corrected. Jesse, it would be interesting to hear your side. There are two sides (or probably more than a dozen sides actually) to every story. Jesse has only been writing a couple of years, and I think she deserves acclaim for describing the other side so aptly. Congratulations.

im a student of the unconscious. they are a lot more supple that way, so i've noticed.

So, Karl Wiggins ... what do you mean by 'the other side'? Was the narration from the other side of death - consciousness? Oh, now I'm really getting confused .... not fair to do that to a poor old lady, y'know ....

Getting spooky now, Carly. No, seriously, what do I mean by "the other side"? I mean there's always a second point of view. A beggar kills accidentally, a thief kills because he's done it before and he needs the money. Travel his timeline backwards and we find a war hero but ..... @!#$ happens. Too right it does. I spent six months in the early eighties working South-Central L.A., the home of the Bloods and the Crips. 150 gang-related homicides that year. However, those kids who kill other kids because they happen to live on another street across the tracks are probably more righteous in what they do than America is in sending soldiers to fight the Vietnamese who, to quote Muhammed Ali "Never threw a rock at America and never threw a rock at me." Those Bloods and Crips are defending their own territory, their families. It doesn't make it right but perhaps it helps to tell "the other side of the story." I'm on a roll now, so please forgive me, but I've just got to tell this story: Dr. Stephen Covey (of 7 habits fame) tells that one day he was taking a ride on the subway and a man got on the train with a bunch of kids. They were running wild. Running up and down the carriage and annoying eveyone. Dr. Covey thought that after a few minutes they'd settle down, but they didn't. And the man just ignored them. He looked around a bit but for the most part just stared at his feet. After a while Dr. Covey approaches the man and in a polite voice says, "Excuse me sir, your kids are just running wild along the train and quite frankly it's annoying most people here." The man sighs, looks at Dr. Covey and says, "I know ..... we just came from the hospital and they've just lost their mother. It's their way of dealing with it, I guess. I don't quite know how to deal with it yet, but ..... I'm sorry, I'll try and control them." The other side of the story.

Karl, you're beginning to scare me. I now re-read my post, thinking, "what can he see of me in that?"...... I like the way you think..... but ....maybe Dr Carey was the victim of bullsh**? It's a good tale but one I might use next time my kids run riot. (What am I talking about???? My kids NEVER run riot; being well adjusted beings that they are!) Apart from that, the first part of your post was spot on. Yours unconsciously supple

Apologies to Jesse. I meant to write HE deserves acclaim ..... Sorry Buddy

Your following of the story is basically right Stormy. There are no metaphores, or hidden meanings. It's just an account of the tragic vicissitudes of the poor man's life due to his experience in battle, the loss of his wife, and the bad choices he made afterward. When writing the story I imagined time slowing down as the thief made his escape, allowing for some recounting of his past and what led to the present. The conclusion was a pathetic and sad dimise of an ill-fated man who was guided by grief and bitterness. Glad you liked the story. I just hope that someday my epitaph is a little more honorable, though we all have a checkered past to some degree. Thanks