Free In the Garden of Rot by Sara Green Page B

how people interpret something differently and then poof: misinformation. I’d rather the video clip be forgotten or just appreciated for being a good special effects video. Because that’s all it was supposed to be.

3.  THE COHORT
     
    Sam Carpenter’s cohort on that night of filming was a fifty-two year old we’ll call Will Castle.  He graciously gave me two interviews, one before my interview with Sam Carpenter and one just two days later, at his request. I was happy to meet with him a second time, but it did not seem as if he had planned to until I told him parts of what Sam Carpenter had told me.
    Will Castle is a smart man, you can tell that in his pauses. I might be reading too much into his life story but I believe he is one of the few quick wits that realized that saying something the fastest isn’t actually witty.  He draws back, isn’t afraid to stutter and like his graying hair and wrinkling face it is a confidence only etched by time itself.
    To contrast Sam Carpenter, he has bright blue eyes and a bit of disdain. He might be a prime suspect in a variety of cases only because he’s an old white guy who doesn’t donate to the pockets of the razor blade companies as often as others, nor has he let his facial hair form a respectful beard fitting of a college professor.
    Will, seemed to buck the traditional requirements of American society all his life. Having been raised in a traveling Military family he had spent time in places like Germany and California and a brief few months in Italy and even as foreign a place as Atlanta, Georgia before returning to a place his family so often called home—Richmond, Virginia.
    There’s a way he talks about the city that is romantic. As if he’s the abused wife who can’t admit to herself where she got her black eye and busted lip.
    But there is no pause when we sat down at a local bar for beer aficionados. Will was quick to clarify statements made by Sam Carpenter.
    WILL: I told him to take down the video. He’s the one who posted it. He’s the one who shared it. Don’t believe what (Sam) says. He’s a bullshit artist. He takes pride in that. And most of the time, guys like that, they’re fun. They rattle off to impress and entertain. Sam is very funny. The shit he’ll say with a straight face is priceless. But I don’t think Sam defines ‘entertainment’ the way you or I would. His sense of humor is dark, you know?
     
    Care to elaborate?
    WILL: Look, it’s funny. He’s that guy that you don’t ask for ideas for pranks because he’s going to take it that extra step where someone isn’t going to just laugh it off. Right?
     
    Does Sam still post the video?
    WILL: He better not. Yeah it pops up, I might not see it right away but he takes it down if I say something. But half the time he tries to pass it off like he didn’t post it.  A year or two ago, I would’ve believed him if he said he went through a huge ordeal to get it removed but it’s just him giving it more time on the internet. Letting more people see it. He’s put my name on it. So they harass me. You read most of the message boards where someone mentions that clip and it’s my name.
     
    Sam did not seem intent on letting people see the video, why do you say that he does?
    WILL: (laughs) God, I bet he enjoys you. He’s not a magician. He’s just an ass.  But maybe he’s convinced himself that he is. You know misdirection: ‘don’t look at this.’ He’s telling you to go look at it. I told you, he finds it entertaining. He can’t wait for you to see it. Have you been able to see it yet?
     
    I have.
    WILL: And boom. He was successful. You wasted all this time, and for what, a bad special effect he made on his computer. But enough people are saying it’s real. So you must think, ‘hey, it could be’.
     
    Do you believe in what was captured in the video?
    WILL: I told you already. When it happened it was quick but I know what I think I saw. I don’t know about editing