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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

V is for Virtuous Vice


Note: I'm throwing my hat into the A-Z Blogging challenge sponsored by Tossing it out! What you will be reading via the letters A-Z will give you a glimpse into my world and what I do when I'm not here - blogging.


Dictionary definition of: 
Virtuous - having or showing high moral standards
                (blameless, righteous, good, worthy)
Vice    -    immoral or wicked behaviour; a shortcoming 
                a weakness of character or behaviour; a bad habit
The question then begs…
Can one have a virtuous vice?
She was given permission to go to the drive-in by her mother, but just barely. Mama was fond of the boy so she had agreed.
Her father was away for the weekend otherwise the answer would have been an emphatic No! Papa did not like the boy.
The boy’s car was a classic oldie, big and solid, but very fast - as was the boy - or so Papa thought. 
"And,” said Papa, in his sternest voice, “that boy has evil thoughts and no girl of mine will be allowed to ride in that devil car of his!”
As the clock approached nine and the sun had almost disappeared the boy knocked on the door. 
Mama had insisted on meeting him in the house and giving him her “look” - Mama’s look said a lot and you only needed one look to understand she meant business.
The girl and boy left for the drive-in.
The only intersection out of town was busy that evening as every other young couple was heading for the drive-in too. 
The boy was driving at just the right speed...not too fast, and not too slow; he remembered Mama’s look and had understood its meaning.
But…the other driver was not so careful.
When the call came Mama started to cry; the doctor said her girl was fine, but sadly the boy had died.
The town came together to grieve and mourn his death. Pews overflowed as people settled into their seats; a hush fell over the place and the girl’s Papa began to speak.
“I owe this boy my eternal gratitude; because of his virtuous vice my daughter’s life was spared.”

Can a virtue also be a vice?
Authors note: 
This story is about a boy’s car which is considered his vice; it becomes virtuous in a father's eyes when he realizes the devil car had been used for good and saved his daughter's life in that terrible car accident.



Until W...

16 comments:

  1. what a sad story.

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  2. I love your story, although the ending is a bit sad but many of my favorite stories are bittersweet.

    I'm your newest follower, number 50, a nice even number in my humble opinion.

    I hope you have a lovely day!

    jennifer (MM)

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  3. Great story.

    And I would like to think that I have a nice balance (51-49%) of each of those. lol

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  4. Hmmmm, the double V question to which I have no solid answer. For the parents of the boy it wasn't a virtuous car. It failed to protect their son from death. Great story! Great question!

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  5. Great story, and question! The story is very powerful, as I found myself caring a great deal for the characters in spite of the short length.

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  6. That was a great story, but with a sad ending! I also found myself caring about the characters.

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  7. Okay, that story gave me goose bumps. How sad...

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  8. what a touching story ... I'd cry if it got filmed!

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  9. I was going to make wiseguy remark, but it wouldn't have been right.
    Great story!

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  10. Becca

    Mountain Mama (Welcome to my site #50!)

    Oilfield

    Carole

    Julie

    Thisisme

    Krissy

    DEZMOND

    Al

    My apologies for the blanket reply - I’ve been playing chauffeur today (aging mother) and am now heading out to help Mini Master with her mermaid tail.

    Thank you all for commenting on this piece.

    I have been looking forward to “V” all month long.
    I am trying my best (not always successfully) to be minimalistic with the wording of my posts - thereby drawing you, the reader, into the mix and having to live the story a little bit.

    I think from reading your comments that you did feel it, I’m glad it hit the mark.

    There potentially is so much to tell, but I wanted to leave it bare so you could create the scene.

    This is what I saw when I wrote this piece...the boy, seeing the oncoming speeding car, swerves to the right to protect his girl and ends up being hit driver’s side and dies.

    His vice (driving a fast ‘devil’ car) becomes honourable (virtuous) because of his action.

    This was my most difficult challenge to date - I thank you all for indulging me and reading and commenting about it.

    Sincerely, Jenny

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  11. Wow!! Look at you Moo! 51 followers and another excellent post! Sad, but a good question and an interesting idea.

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  12. great post!

    excellent read the spin on virtue and vice being not opposites...

    simply wow..

    congrats on 51~

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  13. I suppose a vice can become virtuous unintentionally, as illustrated in the story, but otherwise, no. The vice (car) wasn't considered virtuous until an accident happened and somehow (not stated) the car was responsible for saving a life.

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  14. Courtney

    I love it when you have time in your busy day to drop in and check out what your Moo is up to!
    Did you see, my lovely goddaughter, Eira, is now following - isn’t that sweet!


    Bruce

    Now it feels complete - a comment from you always seals the deal!
    The numbers are getting there because you’ve done such a great job steering traffic over here - BIG HUGS!


    Elle Strauss

    Welcome to Pearson Report and thank you for following.

    I have long been fascinated with virtues and vices. There are interesting papers and articles on the subject of virtuous vices. (worth a google perusal)

    From observing human nature and how we handle our own personal virtues and vices - I have concluded, affirmatively, that the likelihood of a virtuous vice existing was (and is) a very real possibility.
    The test was in translating my thoughts into a story where readers might draw a similar conclusion.


    As I wrote in an earlier reply (above):
    This was my most difficult challenge to date - I thank you all for indulging me and reading and commenting about it.

    Cheers,
    Jenny

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  15. That's such a sad story.

    But and interesting point! I think, as in the story, it depends on the circumstances. So I would say that in some cases virtuous vice can exist.

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  16. Golden Eagle - I love it when I see your avatar light up my comment page - I'm such a fan of the big birds.

    Thanks for adding to the dialogue. You are so right - it does very much depend on the circumstances.

    Have a wonderful day,
    Jenny

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts.