Jane's Initial Analysis

Chapter 2

 

JANE’S INITIAL ANALYSIS

 

Written by Jane Doer

 

 

                Well, the task is completed! I’ve finished typing Joe’s spoken words, needing, as you might

 

expect, to employ the “rewind” of the tape deck time and time again, simply because I can’t type as

 

fast as Joe can speak! I corrected whatever errors I found in the verbal text. I wouldn’t say there

 

were an inordinate amount of them, but there were some; most were either grammatical or time-

 

related, that is, material spoken of which didn’t pertain to the subject matter of the certain tape it

 

was on, etc.. And of course I edited out all expletives, of which there really weren’t many, except on

 

the tape I’ve entitled “Observations From Joe’s Home Chapter Two.”

 

                Personally, I don’t know if it was really necessary to offer this introduction. And its

 

placement here as chapter two is certainly controversial. But it was Joe’s desire that I write this

 

piece, as well as a final analysis which he said should be the last chapter of the book, provided of

 

course the tapes he recorded ever reached book stage. And he felt very strongly about that. Why, I

 

don’t know. It was his belief, I guess, that somehow my physical actions of transposing his words

 

were also an actual part of all the occurrences, bizarre or commonplace, which taken as a whole,

 

constituted what I’ll term here “The Joseph Same Story.”

 

                I suppose some sort of at least passing notation of my efforts should have been made. But

 

Joe was emphatic about my “extended” role in this entire “saga,” if you wish to term it that. In fact,

 

before he left my office after leaving the tapes with me that day, he told me, “Jane, if you don’t

 

want to tell them of your experiences transposing my words, then don’t bother to begin the

 

transposition in the first place.” Thus, I offer you the following information; of what importance or

 

relevance it may be can be determined by you as readers.

 

                 Forty nine of this book’s fifty four chapters needed transposition from tape, as two of them

 

were written by myself, one was written by Orlon Braem, and two others were letters, one from

 

Sharon Lyfe, and the other from the person who served as the thirteenth juror at Joe’s trial. And

 

only those five chapters which were submitted by people other than Joe are so noted in the final

 

manuscript of this book. They are chapters 2, 12, 13, 53, and 54. All the rest of the chapters are

 

transpositions from the taped dialogue of Joseph Same. Their contents appear here simply following

 

their chapter titles.

 

                Before I began the transposition process, I thought of perhaps including a notation above the

 

physical beginning of each chapter telling where, and at what time in mankind’s existence the

 

events of that chapter had occurred. I changed my mind however, and now have only made

 

notations upon the heading of those chapters just mentioned, which were actually written by others.

 

However, I also considered having preliminary “notes” preceding a few other chapters as well, but

 

decided instead to tell you here what might be of some relevance to you as you begin to read those

 

chapters. Those comments concern chapters 3, 4, 5, and 52.

 

                Chapters four and five were actually recorded by Joe about two years before the others. I

 

believe they were an “escape mechanism” for him at the time. And frankly, Orlon and I designated

 

them as chapters four and five simply because we felt they belonged as near the beginning of the

 

book as possible. Yet, it seems the three chapters which precede them do so appropriately. But as

 

you read the fourth and fifth chapters, I’d ask you to keep in mind that their date of taping does pre-

 

date that of the others in this book by roughly two years.

 

                And chapter three was actually the second to last tape recorded by Joe. Thus, on it he

 

mentions his having completed his “journeys of retribution,” and speaks also of his having already

 

committed the bank robbery told of a few chapters later. Orlon Braem and I felt it best to move this

 

chapter closer to the beginning of the book however, since it deals primarily with events that

 

occurred prior to the major activities presented in the other chapters herein.

 

                Also, subsequent to the recording of what is now chapter three, Joe decided to record yet one

 

more tape which I’ve entitled “Prayers, Petitions, and Farewells,” and which is found near the end

 

of the book. I did not physically receive that tape along with the others which I’ve transposed for

 

this book. Joe mailed it to me later. Thus, there may be slight inaccuracies in both that chapter and

 

others concerning the chronological occurrence of certain events; some of which designate that tape

 

(now chapter 52) as having not been the last recorded. I’ve decided not to change any of those

 

inaccuracies. I’ve determined that all the tapes should be transposed verbatim as much as possible. I

 

have made some changes to the original texts of the tapes however, but they involve either deleting

 

profanity, correcting what I felt were potentially confusing spoken errors concerning the “timing” of

 

events or, what I perceived of as lapses in thought process, i.e. jumping about from topic to topic

 

on the same tape.

 

                And I believe that as you read this book you’ll quickly understand why it was necessary for

 

both the primary character of these writings (Joe), and myself, to take on “false monikers” for the

 

telling of these “tales.” Indeed, I felt our anonymity was crucial for their disclosure.

 

                I’m Jane, Joe’s attorney, and just as Joseph Same is not his real name, so is Jane Doer not

 

my real name either. But right now, before we go any further, I want to dispel any possible

 

conjecture that might arise about Joe and myself. We are not, and never have been in any type of

 

“relationship.” We did attend high school together here locally however, and were actually in the

 

same graduating class. From that I’m sure you can deduce we’re the same age. 

 

                After graduation from high school, I began a journey of higher education that led me through

 

college as an undergraduate, and then through law school. Joe, I believe, worked at a few

 

“dead-end” jobs immediately after graduation. He did this for about two years before enlisting in

 

the army. He served militarily for about three years.

 

                After his return from military service he found a better paying, more permanent type of

 

factory employment. Soon thereafter, he became married to an exceptional lady named Laura. She

 

however was probably above him in intellectual and “artistic” abilities. Later we learned that she in

 

fact had not been born in this reality of the earth! And the concept of parallel earthly realities is 

 

difficult to imagine, and frankly believe. It will certainly be explained later in this book, thus, for

 

now, I’ll say no more about it.

 

                But I will state that Joe and Laura’s marriage was apparently successful for a while. They

 

became parents twice. Still, as time wore on, something evidently changed, at least from Joe’s

 

perspective. I don’t know exactly what it was, but for whatever reason, or probably reasons, he

 

began to drink alcohol excessively. Laura did what she could to break him of what then became a

 

habit and a problem. And my understanding is that Joe also did try from time to time to “break

 

himself free” from what by then had become an addiction, but failed each time.

 

                And Joe apparently then began to change into a cynical and “negatively based” individual.

 

I’ve heard that Laura had a very difficult time dealing with him during that period. I don’t know that

 

physical abuse of any sort, either against her or the children ever occurred, but she filed for a

 

divorce eventually.

 

                After the divorce was finalized, Joe’s life apparently spiraled downward deeper into

 

alcoholism and depression, while Laura, now with custody of the children, began after some time to

 

date a man named Todd. And about three years after her divorce from Joe, she and Todd were both

 

killed in a horrific automobile accident. That event, as you may imagine, struck a devastating blow

 

into the psyche of Joe, who at that time had recently been able to break his addiction to alcohol. Yet,

 

as you’ll learn later, that “accident” may not have actually occurred accidentally. It may have been

 

but a “mechanism” to send Laura and Todd to a new home which evidently the two of them had

 

expressed a desire to inhabit.

 

                But Joe’s defeat of alcoholism apparently corresponded with a “complete change” of

 

his personality. He did quit drinking “cold turkey,” but then became someone whom his

 

acquaintances and children apparently hardly recognized. It was at this time then that he, for

 

some reason, attempted a bank robbery which was very strangely “thwarted.” And that attempted

 

crime then apparently set into motion a series of “journeys of retribution.”        

 

                But now let’s speak of the more immediate present. A few weeks ago, Joe came to my office

 

and dropped off a number of taped messages which he said contained recollections of some of his

 

“sojourns.” He asked me to listen to the tapes, and then perhaps “rewrite” or “rework” their verbal

 

contents into a better “prose presentation.” He apologized for having used a somewhat “dated”

 

recording method, but advised me he couldn’t afford anything more than an old recorder at this

 

time. We then had a brief discussion about all that had befallen him, and I later used that discussion

 

as an input to help redo his taped words. And the tapes I received from Joe were somewhat of a

 

mess. But I did what I could to organize them into some type of order.

 

                And, during our conversation, I learned that much to his consternation, the seraphim (angels

 

who “over-saw” his journeys of retribution) had, in a few instances, mandated his late, and/or

 

reduced disclosure of some of the material concerning his journeys. And I knew that Joe wished to

 

have the sequence of his reworked tapes remain the same as that of his recorded tapes in any

 

potential manuscript which might ever evolve from them. Thus, in the final manuscript, I placed all

 

those tapes which dealt with the confusion generated by the mandates of the seraphim in exactly the

 

order I received them; the same order in which Joe had apparently recorded them. And I don’t wish

 

to verify the exact chapter numbers of the tapes I just alluded to, but I’m guessing they begin around

 

chapter twenty-nine and end perhaps with the chaotic chapter forty-three.

 

                Yet, for the book as a whole, I found I couldn’t justify adhering to the policy I just

 

advocated. I felt the book in its entirety “read” better with “Incidents On A Deserted Rural Road”

 

and “A Tribute To Laura” moved from near the end of the book to much nearer its beginning, while

 

“Lauren” was left near the end.