Fred, Edith, and Human Behavior (108)

Stephen King, yes, the other, very famous in is own right, Stephen King, reminded me of an old favorite movie, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, a John Huston film staring Humphrey Bogart.  I had been thinking quite a bit lately of human behavior and especially thinking about it after the Boston Marathon incident.  So, thank you Stephen for making all the disorganized, messy thoughts I was having congeal into something of a statement concerning our victories and failings as human beings.

You may know of the Humphrey Bogart movie, when Bogart plays Fred Dodd, a fairly normal man trying to improve his lot in life by taking some risks and working very hard.  But, do you recall Edith?  Edith is the presumed name of Lot’s wife.  Yes, that is the same Lot from Genesis in the Bible.  Funny how she is always just referred to has Lot’s wife with no name of her own.  But, I believe students of the Bible have been able to track down a first name for her and most Hebrew students of Genesis believe her name was Edith.

Well, Edith had a moment of human frailty when she was fleeing for her life with Lot and some others.  Their only command for freedom was, “Flee, but do not look back.  If you look back, you will be turned to salt.”  I like to think I would have gone along with that command and run like heck.  But, Edith had a moment of weakness and turned back to take one last look at her former home and zap–she was turned to salt.  Now, I think Lot did pretty good to just keep going without standing around weeping over his lost wife.  He just kept going like he was commanded.  Mean while, Sodom was destroyed and Edith remained, half way to freedom, turned into a salt pillar.

Fred Dodd, on the other hand, crept over to the dark side slowly.  He had a good deal going, working with a couple of other guys to mine a possible gold field.  They actually did strike it rich and in doing so, something dark and terrible was turned on in Fred’s mind.  He became greedy and paranoid.  This was a man that had worked side by side with his two companions and shared everything.  He had stood up with them against some heavily armed banditos and beat the bad guys back with skill, smarts, and a lot of luck. 

Then, suddenly, they struck it rich and he started craving what his fellows workers had gained through their hardship and their mutual partnership.  He was paranoid about losing his share of the gold yet wanted to find a way to capture their shares as well.

If you haven’t seen the movie, I won’t tell you the ending, but I will say that it didn’t work out the way Fred was hoping.

What I want to say from these two stories is that sometimes, even when we have the purest of intentions, the frailty of our human self can take hold and cause us to do something we will regret forever. The weakness may even cause our demise.

I always liked the story of Lot’s wife because I thought we had much in common. I probably would have turned back to look also. Not that I’m not a good person but that I have the same human weaknesses of Edith. Curiosity and a desire not to let go of the past can sometimes be our undoing. And poor Fred Dodd. I have often seen people overcome by greed and I am pretty certain I will not become a part of that sorry group.

How can we gird ourselves to be the ones that withstand temptation and do the right or ‘heroic’ thing? We can train our mind, our body, and our spirit to be as strong as possible.

And, what kind of person am I? Will I be the one to run away from the sound of an explosion, or crumple in tears, or will I be the one dashing past those two, right into the face of danger to help another person or prevent a disaster?

We live in a time of uncertainty. I am preparing to charge into the face of danger with no more fears.