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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

"Mr Harmly Moe or: How He Learned To Stop Worrying and Get the Optical Surgery" by Charles P


     Mr. Harmly Moe sat on a doctor’s exam table, uncomfortably shifting from buttock to buttock to avoid coaxing the wax paper beneath him to crinkle. He failed, and at each halted breath the paper made him that much more self-conscious. Staring at Dr. Rose’s back, he stroked his overweight albatross mustache and tapped his nondescript knee. While both men were miles apart spiritually, they shared a sort of universal adult disappointment, enforced by the piling on of years too short and/or too long.

            “So... how are you feeling, Harmly?” the doctor muttered. In a blandly offended voice, the patient retorted. “Please, please. Call me Mr. Harmly Moe. And I’m afraid it’s rather serious, Dr. Rose. This health issue is drastically hurting my work. As you know, I’m a high school principal.” The paper on the bench ignited Jiffy Pop as he awkwardly adjusted. Rose ogled his clipboard, which shot a glance back at him, as effortlessly disinterested as he. Harmly wished for justification in the form of a medical doctor guessing the problem by himself, but Rose was mentally perfecting his putter technique in his head. The Harmly Moe would have to take charge.
            “Doc, here is my blunder. I’m afraid it’s with my eyes, it’s… when I look at the students at the school I work at, I see kids.” Rose dropped his stunned clipboard onto the slate tiles. The ball in his head sheathed itself in the sand bunker. The doctor bared the pearls in his mouth and cried, “We need to take you to the ER right away!”
Below countless flickering fluorescents, Harmly sat on a cold table inside an operating theater, waiting for the surgeon to arrive. Metallic doors blasted open, and a man in a paper mask materialized before him. The sound of students scribbling elasticized between the walls. The surgeon rubbed his latex hand against Harmly’s cheek while dictating in an almost missable Strangelove accent. “You should have had this done long before! But don’t worry. You’re safe with me.” He retrieved a syringe with one hand and a scalpel with the other, and held them above Harmly’s cornea. “This won’t hurt a bit, just hold still.” The needle brazenly elbowed into his eye, expecting to catch someone in the act of viewing pornographic material.
The next day, Mr. Harmly Moe stood proudly at the front of his office with hands on his hips, watching every figure chase by. It was lunchtime now, and the usual inane tasks carried on accordingly. Each zoomed past his peripheral, running, shouting, cursing. “Not too fast,” he chuckled, in a Beverly Hillbillies y’all come back now ya’ hear style of corny bucktooth hospitality. In the voids that the students occupied, he could see the fruits of the procedure. The school’s pupils were now distorted in Mr. Harmly Moe’s. Five digit numbers drifting in midair were all that he could register. Rubbing his palms together, Harmly exclaimed, “Now I can finally work.”

20 comments:

  1. Well, hello there Charlie Charles!
    Wow! I loved this. I know you said this wouldn't be great, but, of course, it is. I really, really loved your piece. Your use of satire is impeccably perfect and I liked your reference to Doctor StrangeLove. I also enjoyed your comparison of the dreaded wax paper of hospitals to Jiffy popcorn. It made me laugh and really think about the school system and how horrible it would be if it were to be run by a man such as Mr. Harmly Moe. AND I even read it to my mom because I think it's so great! But, yes, thanks for this submission! It made my day better and, as I've told you before, you're an amazing writer even though you don't believe half the time. Fantastic job, Charles! (:

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  2. Charles,
    I must say that this is so far my favorite story that I have read on the blog, and it seems may remain so for quite some time. Not only is the use of satire top-notch, your use of detail and imagery is also impeccable making the story seem more real than a non-fiction novel. In addition the entirety of the story was entertaining yet managed to convey a serious message without having to force it down readers' throats like some meaningful stories. The satire really helps to bring together the entertainment and the message into one wholly funny and meaningful story about the high school principal struggling with his horrible curse of personal compassion and humanity.
    -Great Job!

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  3. Christian Black
    10-9-14
    PERIOD 1

    I love It Charles! I love how satirical the entire story is from beginning to end. Reading through this I try to imagine if our school administration was like Mr. Harmly Moe and let me tell you I just cant imagine that. This piece is entertaining and also made a few points at the same time. It makes you wonder what would happen if humanity had the ability to "blur" out the things they don't like. Or the things we didn't want to face. We would never learn how to grow as a individual and become a stronger person but at the same time it would be a guarantee that you would never be hurt. This piece really is amazing and causes the reader to think and reflect on the world around them. WELL DONE!

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  4. Wow, wow, wow! I'm a sucker for satire, and yours is one of the best I've read in awhile. I really enjoyed that you alluded to our school, which makes it seem like you're addressing us (being the students). Your use of detail was phenomenal, it really enhanced your characterization of Mr. Harmly Moe. Also, the mention of the numbers shows me that there is no individuality recognized at school, or even society. Instead,the authorities are focused on the system, not the citizen. I loved that you covered this serious meaning with a hilarious story.

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  5. Gian Velasquez
    10/10/14
    Period 1

    Charles, this is the most hilarious thing I have read in ages. I swear, your usage of satire is beyond all of us. As Principal Harmly Moe can only see children, I can now only hear your voice because of the style of writing you have. You play with words so eloquently and right in the reader's face when you somehow manage to compare looking at pornographic material to how the doctor injects it into his eye. Bravo.

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  6. Mahlon Howard
    Period 4

    This story is just amazing. The use of imagery and the cringing moment of the syringe in the eye kept me on the edge of my seat. Great Job Charles you cease to amaze me in your abilities as a writer and story teller. Also, with the Dr. Strange Love reference, his accent fit an experimental doctor's voice perfectly setting the image of suspense perfectly. Glad that this was posted and i'm glad I got the chance to read it.
    -Nice Job 10/10

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  7. Mr. Charles, as always your piece did not fail to amuse me. Your use of satire, imagery, and humor allows the readers to experience the story on a personal level. When I first read this story I got two messages out of it. However, after re-reading it, the serious message of this story vividly settled in my mind. Overall, it was a great piece. Well done Charles! Keep writing because you are honestly talented.

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  8. Charles! All of the references in this story are amazing! The use of satire and descriptions of the characters made me laugh. Each characters personality is described with humor and such detail. The entertainment value of your story did create valid arguments and opinions without blatantly shoving it in my brain, but at the same time shoving it in my brain (in a good way). If that made sense. But great story and I would love to read more of your creativity! -Katelynn Gutierrez Period 4

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  9. This is just hilarious. I believe it's quite well written, with words such as "albatross mustache" and statements like "The ball in his head sheathed itself in the sand bunker," adding a lot of character to the story. The allusions to a person whom anyone in EHS should know and the satire revolving how a principal sees his students is quite amusing. The humor of the story really adds to the message of the piece, that the principal and students a business only relationship. I love this story and I was actually laughing so hard at the end, I cried. Bravo Charles, bravo.

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  10. Jeez I love what you did with naming the principal "Harmly Moe" and I didn't catch the reference until the second paragraph. I thought this story was so well-written and very odd in its descriptions like "overweight albatross mustache". I also liked how the conflict was the high school principal being able to see students as human beings as then the urgency of the doctor breaking into action because its such a terrible thing to be able to sympathize with your own species. The satire is just on point and the story is interesting all the way through and it honestly is one of my favorite stories :)
    Damairis Lao. Period 1.

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  11. Thuy Cao
    Period 1
    See, I already figured there was some connection between Mr. Harmly Moe and some administrative figure without our own school system. However, it was until after reciting that name over and over did I come to the epiphany of what it was actually referencing- thus following a slight moment of euphoria and then blatant idiocy. Great job, however. Your impeccable use of verbiage and detail really brings forth layers of dimension to this piece. However, my only criticism would be that it often makes the sentences a bit over complicated and stifles the meaning. But your indirect implication of the administrative passive attitude to the intangible ID numbers that are students was extremely well done.

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  12. Thuy Cao
    Period 1
    See, I already figured there was some connection between Mr. Harmly Moe and some administrative figure without our own school system. However, it was until after reciting that name over and over did I come to the epiphany of what it was actually referencing- thus following a slight moment of euphoria and then blatant idiocy. Great job, however. Your impeccable use of verbiage and detail really brings forth layers of dimension to this piece. However, my only criticism would be that it often makes the sentences a bit over complicated and stifles the meaning. But your indirect implication of the administrative passive attitude to the intangible ID numbers that are students was extremely well done.

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  13. Charles I loved your use of imagery throughout your story. Your writing skills and storytelling skills impressed me! Overall, your story had me on the edge on my seat.
    -Philip Ahn 5th

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  14. Wow, this was an amazing story! I really liked how you used discriptive words throughout the story to convey a nice sense of imagery. When you talk about the Mr.Harmly Moe in the operating room, I can almost picture myself in the room due to all the descriptive phrases you used. Great Job!

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  15. Great job i like the way you used your wording and how your imagery just puts a picture in my head :)
    Period 6
    Leo Franco

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  16. i love your story. The imagery was fantastic, and i like how you used it throughout the story. And i really enjoyed the connection between Mr. Harmly Moe with our own principle.
    -Mariah Rhodes
    period 6

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  17. I found myself laughing uncontrollably by the end of the second sentence because of how relatable the situation was. I was instantly hooked. Everyone's been talking about the imagery and word choice, and it would be wrong of me not to comment on it as it is such an obvious device used. However, I found it to be distracting at times. With that said, I enjoyed the transition that occurred within the poem, when it changed from a happy, goofy tale of a ridiculous hospital situation to a very clear dig at the way the schooling system sees the students nowadays. The satire, mainly irony, used in this poem is quite impressive and I look forward to any other pieces that you may produce.
    -Andy Reinschmidt

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  18. Charles! All of the references in this story are amazing! The use of satire and descriptions of the characters made me laugh. Each characters personality is described with humor and such detail. The entertainment value of your story did create valid arguments and opinions without blatantly shoving it in my brain, but at the same time shoving it in my brain (in a good way). If that made sense. But great story and I would love to read more of your creativity! -Katelynn Gutierrez Period 4

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  19. Wow! Great piece I loved your use of satire and imagery. Each character was described phenomenally. Your story was creative with thought provoking arguments. I would love to hear more of your creativity keep writing!
    Leah Hernandez

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  20. Charles,
    your ability to blend sarcastic humor with a legitimate message makes this piece entertaining yet thought-provoking. I thoroughly enjoyed the part where you vividly describe the scene in which Mr. Moe waits for the doctor's response, moving slightly so as not to jostle the paper he sits on. Every time I go into a doctor's office do the same exact thing. I was amazed that you put into words the feelings that arise when sitting on that repulsive white paper. I think you should share your work more often and I look forward to reading more.
    _Adan Chavez
    Per. 4

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