If You Say So...

This first blog post I wrote in this 4 week chunk was about how The Memory of Running was my favorite of the books we'd read so far, and that Smithy is a very likable character. My opinion hasn't changed much, but here's a list of things I don't like and/or find unbelievable:

1. How did Smithy ride after being hit by a truck and not actually treated? He claimed to have had cuts all over his behind, right? Well I got bitten in the behind by my neighbor's beagle when I was in 4th grade (long story, but it wasn't my fault) and it wasn't even a bad bite, more like a nip, but I couldn't sit down for like a week (my best friend wouldn't stop laughing when I'd stand at my desk during writing time).
2. Smithy has been shot legit SO MANY TIMES! How the hell is he still alive? First Vietnam, then almost shot in (East!) St. Louis, then kinda in the neck in that snowstorm wherever he was at that point. And he was also hit by a truck? Yea... and then he continued biking hundred's of miles? Yea...okay.
3. Like Shaleen mention in his post, Smithy managed to have enough energy to bike across the country essentially eating only tuna fish and bananas? I mean if you say so...
4. Also along the lines of what Shaleen mentioned, no withdrawal symptoms or anything from just going cold turkey on smoking and drinking? Now that's incredibly unrealistic.
5. WTH?! Why is Norma on the exact beach in California he showed up on? At the same exact time.

And what I have a problem with even more than the ending (therefore I find this to be a huge problem) is that Smithy should have been concussed. First he gets hit by a truck, then he get's beat up. I'm pretty sure he's not okay. Let me point out the section on pages 184 and 185; "He kicked me hard in my ass, and I lurched forward, lost my balance, and fell down the eight or ten steps to the walk." So Smithy is, essentially, kicked down the stairs. "At the bottom of the stairs, my face bounced next to a pink azalea," means that Smithy's head impacted the ground so hard that it bounced and hit the ground again. "I was swaying a little, and the more I tried not to say, the more I swayed." Smithy is really, really dizzy and can barely stand on his two feet. "I fell again, got up, fell, got up. My head felt worse than when Carl's truck hit me. I could feel flows of things crashing up my neck, rolling to the front of my head." Does this really need to be explained? And it should also be noted that Smithy threw up twice. So just think about that.

And then a quick Google search.

Signs and symptoms of a concussion may include:

• Headache or a feeling of pressure in the head.
• Temporary loss of consciousness.
• Confusion or feeling as if in a fog.
• Amnesia surrounding the traumatic event.
• Dizziness or "seeing stars"
• Ringing in the ears.
• Nausea.
• Vomiting.

Smithy has like half of these. Pretty sure he has a concussion. But then less than five days later (In chapter 37 Smithy tells Norma it's been five days since their phone call had been interrupted at Carl's house, and by that time he was in Indiana).

Okay, when Taharka got his concussion from soccer the fall of two years ago, he had issues with concentration and stuff and wasn't okay for like a week. It also took him a few weeks to be able go back to soccer. And then when I had my concussion the following spring (also from soccer, but I swear the sport is fabulous and lots of people don't end up concussed. I've always gotta follow in my big bro's footsteps) I was not allowed to do any physical activity either. So I find it a bit hard to believe that Smithy is just right back on his bike as if nothing had really happened a mere few days later without insane headaches or nausea spells or anything.

Not to say that this wasn't a good book anyways, as I enjoyed it the most so far. However, there are aspects of the novel that caused me to raise my eyebrows in disbelief.