The 5 People You Meet in Heaven

Kara St. Hilaire P.4b

thefivepeople

you meet in heaven

Mitch Albom

Eddie, an 83 year old war veteran who spends his days and nights fixing rides at Ruby Pier, has been through a lot of ups and downs in his life. From having a rough child hood with his father, to meeting the girl of his dreams, Marguerite, to fighting in world war 2 and totally messing up his leg, to coming home to Marguerite and living his life with no kids, just Marguerite and Ruby Pier, to his 83rd birthday..

It's just another day at Ruby Pier. Pretty much the same as it's always been since he was a kid. Well, except for the rides, it's all new technology now a days. Anyways.. Eddie's always had Ruby Pier in his life, from when he was little to playing there, to having his father work there, to Eddie working there as a teenager, to now. So it's just like any other day at the sea side amusement park, Eddie's there to open the park up, test all the rides to make sure they're working properly, waits for the kids to come, then lingers around the park all day, making animals out of pipe cleaners for the kids, picking up, and working at the rids until it's time to close up. But today, is a bit different then any other day. A warm, sunny afternoon interrupted by the sounds of "OH my god look! OH MY GOD those people are gonna fall!" Eddie turned his head towards Ruby Park's newest ride, Freddy's free fall. And high in the sky he sees the cart dangling from a few cables, and three people holding on to the bar. A million thoughts rushed to Eddie's mind at once. How could the cables brake? Why did the cart go off the tracks? How are we going to get the people down? He had to react fast, he got Willie, one of the workers, to get a ladder and get the people off the ladder. Meanwhile Eddie was trying to find a way to get the cart back in place. His first idea was to pop the safety release. He instructed Willie to do so. Then Eddie got thinking.. 'The cable is unraveling..' if the safety release is hit, the cart is going to come crashing to the ground. "DON'T RELEASE THE CART! IT'LL SNAP!!!!!" " WILLIE STOP! NO NO DON'T!" Too late. "EVERYONE GET BACK! HURRY!" Eddie tried to warn everyone that the cart was about to come crashing down where the crowd was standing, but there was one little girl he had made a animal out of a pipe cleaner for earlier who was standing there frozen watching the cart dangling from the ride, crack. The Cable broke, and the carts gonna hit the little girl. Eddie flew towards the little girl; he felt her little hands, then nothing. A flash of light, a big impact, then .. Nothing.

The rest of the book is about Eddie's journey through heaven, meeting the five people who have made an impact on Eddie's life in one way or another. "Everything happens for a reason". I think we have all heard that quote. Sometimes you know the reason, and sometimes you don't. Sometimes it takes your whole life to figure out and understand why certain things happen.

#1 The main character Eddie reminds me of my grandfather, Robert St. Hilaire. Like Eddie, my grandfather was in the war, fighting to defend his county. He didn't get hurt like Eddie did, but he was emotionally scarred, like Eddie. My great grandfather handed down the family business (St. Hilaire Roofing & Masonry) to my grandfather. He had always grown up watching his father work, and he helped him out when he was a teenager. My grandfather took over the business, and like Eddie, didn't' enjoy his work, but he felt obligated to take over. Although Eddie made it clear he didn't enjoy working at Ruby Pier, I believe when he got to heaven he realized how much Ruby Pier really meant to him, and how it was a big part of his life. When my Grandfather handed down St. Hilaire Roofing to his two sons, (my father and uncle) he realized how much the business actually meant to him, and still to this day, my grandfather helps my dad and uncle with now, their, business.

#2 The setting of this book, Ruby Pier, is influenced the outcome of the story, in an obvious way. When Eddie got home from the war, all he had left was Marguerite. And when she died, all he had was Ruby Pier. I believe if Eddie didn't have Ruby Pier, he wouldn't have wanted to get up every day and live his life. I'm sure Eddie's life would have been much shorter if it wasn't for that amusement park, no matter how much he said he despised it.

#3

* Eddie dies while working at Ruby Pier at age 83 by a loose cart on a ride that falls and hits him.

* Eddie goes to his heaven (Ruby Pier) and feels like a child again. He has no worries, no fear, no pain, and his body is like Jell-O.

* Eddie meets the first person who made an impact on his life "the blue man"

* Eddie meets his second person in heaven, Captain.

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