My favorite story at this point of the semester has been “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.” I Found the characters and narrative to be not only compelling but true to life as well. Jazz’s, the immigration officer, had all the sarcasm and wit of someone id expect to run into during my daily life. I’ve always been drawn to a sense of reality in stories and reading of Jazz’s exploits felt as though I was having a conversation with a friend. It was a refreshing change of pace given the stories we have read so far have all had a more sad/ dreary undertone.

As we follow Jazz throughout the story, we’re given a glimpse into a day of her life as an immigration officer. Mundane in the delivery, yet exciting for those looking in, Jazz’s life can be viewed as controlled chaos. She’s in a position of relative power as she chooses who can and cannot have access to the UK. During this particular shift, she meets a myriad of people who she deems “unfit” for entry. The people include an older man who rambles on about the band Queen and being micro-chipped by the president. A middle-aged man with a fake passport and something to hide, as well as a teenage girl with no return ticket and vague reasoning’s for her travels. It’s these decisions she makes in holding these people back that speak towards Jazz’s code of Ethics. She not only follows the rules of her job but proclaims that she has to give her own personal judgments. Given this, one could argue that Jazz follows virtue ethics. Whereas her job has a -set- code of conducts and rules, Jazz is seen applying her intuition and principles dependent on the situation. This is evident when looking towards the beginning of the story where she allows one lady to enter when she exclaims she’s going to marry the Prince of England and not the teenager who gives similar reasons. Jazz recognized that the rules do not apply to every situation and have to be handled accordingly.