Rion Amilcar Scott's "On the Occasion of the Death of Freddie Lee" focuses on the experiences of people on a slave-like rice farm. The protagonist becomes increasingly troubled that the group of laborers are prevented from addressing the death of Freddie, who died working and remained facedown in the crops for some time.
The story is eerie, disturbing, and at times gruesome as we consider what it means that a dead body remains on the ground and people are forced to continue working.
What did you find most interesting, unsettling, or noteworthy about this story?
80 comments:
The most noteworthy thing about this story is that Freddie Lee's body was injured prior to the cow getting a hold of it. It makes me wonder what else happened to Freddie Lee's corpse and if his injuries were the cause of his death or if they occurred after.
Also I am wondering who are the Expelled and why did all of the people in the cabin fall into a fever dream at the same time. The main character seems to question whether their experiences are real a lot.
I found it interesting how in the story how it is said that Freddie Lee's body killed the cow? It was quite interesting what I was reading, it made me wonder if the narrator was imaging the whole thing. I couldn't possibly imagine a dead man killing a cow.
The most noteworthy and unsettling thing about this story is the fact that the workers had to keep working despite Freddie's death. The descriptive visuals the writer uses in the story are really eerie in describing the scene of the farm where Freddie's death occurred, especially in the event of the cow.
I found it unsettling that the laborers were forced to continue working around him. I can’t imagine how traumatizing it must have been to see your friend’s face being chewed at by an animal and not being allowed to really do anything about it.
- Kayla P.
The most unsettling thing about this story is how Freddie Lee's friends had to continue to work in the rice fields around his body without giving him a proper burial. It was haunting that Freddie Lee died with his eyes open, so his friends had to see his dead gaze if they looked at his corpse. I found it most gruesome that the owners of the field allowed the cows and animals to chew on Freddie Lee's body like he was not a human being.
-Samantha A.
What I found most unsettling about this story, is how Freddie Lee’s body stayed there in the fields for days or weeks without anyone moving it or doing something to it. This is unsettling because imagine this is how our ancestors had to live during this time. They probably more than certain felt uneasy seeing their friends dead in fields while they still had to continue working like nothing happened. I also think this story can be noteworthy because in the story the boys saw Freddie Lee’s body kill the cow one night. I say this is noteworthy because again our ancestors at this time probably saw a lot of things happen on the plantation that they aren’t sure was real or not.
The most unsettling thing about the story is that Freddie Lee "died harvesting rice for the love of everyone," but Papa Troy could not have the decency to properly bury his body and forced everyone to work around him. If I was in that position I would have felt as if I would not have meant anything to Papa Troy when it was my time to go either.
-Nijay S
For me what I found the most unsettling is how the writer described the death. Even when he did die those who were working still had to even though they had just witnessed a really hard thing. Reading it was hard and for the workers this must have a lot to deal with. It makes me wonder about how the writer was when they wrote it and their frame of mind.
The most disturbing aspect of this story is how Freddie Lee's companions were forced to continue working in the rice fields around his body without properly burying him. It was strange that Freddie Lee died with his eyes open, forcing his companions to look at his body and witness his lifeless stare. The idea that the proprietors of the field let the cows and animals to chew on Freddie Lee's body like he wasn't a human being was truly terrible to me.
Keiahjah M.:
something I found unsettling is Freddie Lee coming from the dead and to rip the cow into thousand of pieces the book stated. I'm just not sure on how a dead person want to come alive and kill a cow what did the cow do to him is my question why did he want to get the cow. That kinda made it seem like he was still in dream. And he mention mark taking a bath in cow blood it was just really confusing to me honestly.
November 11, 2021 at 11:55 PM (posted to B blog)
The most unsettling thing to me about this story was the fact that workers had to continue to work around Freddie Lee's body. The workers did not get the opportunity to mourn the loss of a friend and it was very unsettling as they also had to continue to watch Freddie Lee's body decompose in real time. The workers even witnessed a cow chew Freddie Lee's decomposed body which adds on to the trauma of his death. Reading this story was very unsettling and I can't imagine how hard it was for the workers to go through that experience.
- Alexis S.
What was unsettling to me was the fact that they weren't allowed to pay any respect to the dead. Across every culture honoring the dead is big deal, and in the microculture that was made on Luke's paddy field, the only thing they knew is work, including Freddie. Additionally, Freddie Lee seemingly coming back from the dead and ripping an innocent cow apart was something I didn't see coming.
Something noteworthy about this story is the overall poor conditions on the rice plantation. The fact that Freddie Lee had practically worked to death, and the fact that the workers had to continue to work around his dead body without having time to grieve and bury his body both represent the conditions on the rice plantation. It is sad that these workers have had to live through this, and during chattel slavery in real life these same conditions were present on plantations, which is very difficult to think about.
I think the chilling free gossip about the body was the most unsettling feature of this story. The blatant disrespect of his death is very striking, and calls out how easy humans can turn to the darkest sides of our persona. It's this casual acceptance of a tragedy that seems to show how typical these sorts of incidents really are.
Jalen W
It's gut-wrenching that the other laborers had to keep working while a cold dead body is just laying there getting picked at by cows. I also found it petty that they didn't let the laborers even bury him where he laid and instead let the body just decompose into nothing in real time instead. It's also interesting because as a writer, I would think that the things you write a story about come from an experience youve had or something you've seen. So that makes me wonder if the author has gone through or seen a similar event such as Freddie's death.
The most unsettling part is working while there is a dead body near you and knowing that there is nothing that you can do. Im just imagining if that were to happen today, I would probably have PTSD. The animals were allowed to chew on the body afterwards which is very disturbing. Reading the entire story was just disturbing because its easy to picture these things in your head while you're reading.
I think the most noteworthy thing is that they weren't allowed to deal with the body, but more so that it seemed like no one was allowed to. Did they know that he would reanimate? If they didn't, why leave him in the rice field to contaminate the crops. Why did he come back from the dead? I was somewhat surprised by the gruesome imagery as well, I didn't really need a description of the cow eating him, but it painted the picture well, I suppose.
The most interesting part of this story to me is the narrator himself, I think that since he was the only person who really acknowledged the unsettling nature of the events in this story, it adds to the creepy atmosphere this story creates. His personality juxtaposed against everyone else's is what makes this story an intriguing read.
-Daniel Allison
Besides the workers having to continue with their jobs despite Freddie lying dead next to them, I think the most unsettling thing about this story was the unknown circumstances that caused his death as well as the cow’s. The protagonist in the story mentions how he was bruised up prior to his death, which insinuates that there might have been foul play involved. It leaves me to wonder if he was actually murdered and didn’t just pass away. Also, the main characters blame Freddie’s ghost for the cow’s death. But based on the ending, I find it hard to believe that Little Yuni or Luke didn’t have anything to do with it.
-Chai C.
The most noteworthy part to me, was how the other workers essentially had to pretend that Freddie didn't exist after he died. They weren't even afforded the right to grieve and just had to continue with the job they were doing. This also makes me think of the psychological strain of that situation but also of the job in general.
-Will A.
I think the most noteworthy thing about this story is how little the plantation owners cared about the workers. The fact that they made everyone work around their friends dead and decomposing body, truly just shows how poorly slaves were thought of back then. It was also unsettling to read about how they had to watch a cow chew up Freddie's decomposing body.
- Walter C.
At the end of the story the author mentions that Papa was unusually upset about the death of the cow, Lenire. I expected him to be upset because he wouldn’t be able to sell that cow for profit but he was perturbed over it- absolutely shaken. He wasn’t so much angry as he was sad which left me wondering why. What about Lenire’s death could have possibly made him so upset? What was so special about that specific cow that had him in shambles over her death? I have some speculations but I wish the author would have gone more into depth about this.
-Jovahna W
The most unsettling thing that I found about this sstory was the fact that they left the body there. This is unsettling to me because everyone had to work around this dead body. This could be a very traumatic experience for the narrator because death is constantly in your face.
Ebonie Byrd
I found most interesting the last part of the story where the farm is on fire and the narrator says "the only world we knew was now shrouded in clouds of black smoke"(119). It makes me wonder what the characters will do after that incident. Luke could have burned down the far for vengeance purposes only but I also believe it was to help Freddie Lee's soul rest in peace.
What’s unsettling is that it is more to the story revolving Freddie’s death. They allowed a cow to chew at Freddie’s decaying body and punished those who dared to properly move/ or potentially bury it. What’s noteworthy is the fact that the other people on the plantation had to act as if they had no memory of Freddie and dismiss his death completely, reassuring that he didn’t die from “overworking” but from his prior whippings.
McKenna C.
What I found most interesting about this story are the different ways in which people approach death. To some, when we die, our soul has left, and it is merely our flesh or body that is left. The body is just a vessel and therefore holds no significance after a person has died. A cow eating someone’s dead body may not be shocking to some, especially if they feel that in some way that person if giving back to the earth by providing food for a living being (the cow). However, others view death as the soul has left the body, but the physical body must be laid to rest. It is also how some grieve, and I believe all forms of grief are valid. I am conflicted about this story because this person died slaving away in the sun and then left there to rot. It’s as if he was nothing more than a machine used for labor. He was a person, and his life deserves to be celebrated and remembered.
Teighlor T.
I found the way the narrator reacted to Freddie Lee’s death to be one of the more unsettling aspects of this story. Specifically, when the narrator began to wonder if he would eventually face the same fate as his friend. The way the narrator describes the dark shadow spreading over his brain helped to convey just how traumatizing of a moment this was. To see your friend die doing intense labor and then to have to watch his corpse be disrespected not only because he was left there but also because of the incident with the cow. The whole story just reveals how inhumane they were treated and how their deaths haunt each other.
The most unsettling aspect of this reading was the fact that Freddie lee was dead in the field and his friends had to keep working with his body still there. I imagine that this was very unsettling for the workers. The fact that Freddie Lee’s eyes were also open was also unsettling to me.----------Kiarra Chark
The most unsettling aspect of this reading was the fact that Freddie lee was dead in the field and his friends had to keep working with his body still there. I imagine that this was very unsettling for the workers. The fact that Freddie Lee’s eyes were also open was also unsettling to me.----------Kiarra Chark
The most unsettling thing I found about this story was how long the body was left in the field. It was one thing if they had to work around the body for one day, but having to come back to the same spot as the body is continuously decaying is cruel and unusual. It makes me wonder if the workers wanted to band together and leave the field
Tiana J
What I found unsettling is how they were told to leave the body there until “papa Troy” told them to move Freddie. It was sad hearing the narrator talk about working next to their dead friend. Freddie deserved better than to just decay out in the hot sun in a rice field. He should have been given a proper burial right away.
Breana B.
I felt it was very disturbing and kind of reminds me of today when our people are killed they are often times left for hours before it becomes a priority to move their bodies. It breaks my heart because if it was the other way around people would want their loved ones bodies moved. Especially when the book told us about the cows and them feeding off the body it just seems so inhumane and sickening.
I was disturbed by the depiction of the cow eating at Freddie Lee's face. The workers still had to work while his body was still present around them. These two events were very traumatic on these people and was an instant reply in their minds. What makes it worse was he didn't have a proper burial. Honestly, this whole chapter was unsettling.
The most unsettling part of the story was that Freddie worked his butt off to care for the people he cared the most about, and they left his body out in the field to decay like he was roadkill. People have all these good things to say about him, but allows his remains to be disrespected. They didn't even try to bury him, instead they let the animals eat his remains. It makes me angry how some people treat people after they die. If you respected the person while they were living, then you should respect them when they are not living.
I found it disturbing that they were forced to work in the fields while Freddie Lee's body was laying dead in the same field. On top of that there were animals eating his face, but they weren't able to stop it and just had to endure that horrible scene. I know that this situation is something that will be stuck in all of their heads for probably the rest of their lives.
-Richard Haley
I felt disturbed by Freddie Lee's dead body being on the farm and the rest of the people had to work around it. It must really be traumatizing to be there seeing your friend being chewed on by animals. It's sad working knowing that maybe if you died that would be the same fate for you. The lack of proper burial was just absurd and disturbing.
Elizabeth Kyande
I found it quite unsettling for Freddie Lee’s corpse to remain in the crops for so long. Not only is that unsanitary and physically challenging to handle, but I can only imagine how that affected other workers emotionally. I wouldn’t think that anyone feels comfortable coinciding with deceased bodies.
Jamie Tabron
The most unsettling part was how realistic this story is. laborers forced to work in harsh conditions, suffer injuries, and die are also things slaves had to go through. Working next to a dead body and watching it decay is awful. Overall, this story served as a parallel to the treatment slaves faced, and that's what's unsettling about it.
- Dasmin W.
What I found unsettling was the real life situation the workers would have faced in this story. Seeing a dead body in itself is a shock, but imagine working in minimal conditions where all the workers would have had a close bond with Freddie. This is even scarier to think about. The amount of smell from decomposition and the overall look of a decomposing body is revolting, but being forced to work like that is even more foul and unsettling. What is noteworthy about this is that would be no respect for these workers, even in death.
Brooke H.
As someone who has experienced the death of a loved one, I won't say it's the most settling thing ever in fact it's the most painful thing. People around will always say " they are in a better place", which is true. One thing I found fascinating was keeping us in suspense about the killer of freddie. I'm still confused about who killed him was it the Cow, luke, little yuni or thug riders hmmm ?. Someone should tell me.
The most unsettling part of this story was how Freddie Lee's body had to remain in the field for days. Not only did the workers had to work around his body, but the cows were feeding off of his flesh. The sight of that body must've been very disturbing for the workers to see, and could have been scary for them for the fact that his body could've been theirs.
The part that was most difficult for me to read and understand was when left the body in the field without giving it a proper burial. Death is often a spiritual and important part of the human experience, so it is so disheartening to see that it was left out without a care in the world.
-JJ
I found this entire story to be unsettling. The description of the cow eating Freddie's face, the narrator and his friends being whipped, then the narrator watching his two friends have sex after being beat would have to be the most unsettling parts of this this story.
Jacqueline Smith
What I found most unnerving about the story is the depiction and imagery Freddie Lee's corpse. From the knowledge that the cow that further disrupted Freddie's body to traumaized workers working around the decomposing body. It was all very unsettling and disturbing.
I'Lysa Walker
Keiahjah M.:
something I found unsettling is Freddie Lee coming from the dead and to rip the cow into thousand of pieces the book stated. I'm just not sure on how a dead person want to come alive and kill a cow what did the cow do to him is my question why did he want to get the cow. That kinda made it seem like he was still in dream. And he mention mark taking a bath in cow blood it was just really confusing to me honestly.
November 11, 2021 at 11:55 PM (posted to blog A1)
Kahleea W.:
The most unsettling part was the sympathy Papa Troy had for the cow, but not for Freddy Lee. He was able to mourn the death of his beloved cow for three hours in front of the worker. While he forced the workers to work next to their dead friend. Allowing them to work in these conditions shows the dehumanization during this time.
November 13, 2021 at 3:04 PM (posted to blog A1)
Ashanti Y.:
The most noteworthy and wow thing about this novel so far is the fact that the workers had to keep working in spite of Freddie's death. The idea of the field and letting the cows and animals chew on Freddie Lee's body like he wasn't a person was truly unsettling.
The most unsettling thing in this story is the atrocious infliction that workers had to experience. Working as if there was not a collapsed body on the ground. While reading, I felt the hurt that workers were experiencing. I really wonder how instances like these affected their mental and sanity. I wonder if at the end of days, people would get crazy because of all the horrible scenes seen during the day.
-Geonel M
The most unsettling part was when the workers had to work around a dead body which could have been hard for most to do. I think this story showed how traumatizing it was for woke to the very descriptive imagery the author gave.
- Philip Bowen
What is noteworthy is how the events that happend on the rice farm are so similar to real life events. When we read this the feeling of sympathy, sadness, and anger is similar to reading about slavery in history books. It's crazy that a human being can die from being over worked, under fed, or some other horrible condition and then you tell the other slave to keep working like the same thing can't happen.
The most unsettling part that I found was when the author described Freddie's body or corpse. And how the cow had eaten at his face and body. It was crazy how the workers had to continue working around his body like he wasn't even there, and just sounds really hard and sick to do. He wasn't given a correct burial and his body was further destroyed.
-Noah Phillips
I found it most interesting that everybody had to keep working after their friend had just died. What made it much worse to me is that they kept working while his body was decaying on the ground in front of them. I can't even imagine the psychology toll it had on anyone who had to witness that, whether it be close family, friends, or even young children. It also makes me think about how many of our ancestors had to go through things like this over and over.
The most interesting thing was when Papa Troy cried about the cow exploding. It almost made me think it wasn’t necessarily the cow he was crying about, but Freddie. Maybe he did not want to get rid of Freddie’s body because he was attached to Freddie, hence him being on the farm for a long time. Freddie was even known for his job, so if Troy lost his best worker he would be upset. With the body being gone and the cow exploding it shows that Papa Troy had many things to be upset about. Regardless he still should have given Freddie a proper burial.
Alexis H.
I think that the most unsetting part of this story is when the nighttime was talking about the dead man walking. That with the other details, like the fact that he was missing his tongue and the way the moon casted a reflection on his face created an eerie picture in my mind. But I wasn't scared, it was just interesting and unsettling.
-Tiffany Ellison
What I found interesting about this story is everyone's relation to each other. I am very curious about the narratorms relations to the two people they live with and their relation to mama and papa. The story seems very real and authentic as these type of events would be believed to take place on plantations.
The most unsettling thing to me about this story was the fact that they were punished for attempting to bury Freddie Lee's body. His body had already been forced to stay in the swamp for a long time while the others were working so I think that he deserved a proper burial.
What I found most disturbing about this story was when Freddie Lee's corpse was just left in the field. The fact that his body was just there decaying in the hot sun for days while his friends had to watch. What makes it even worse is, the animals that were eating his flesh. This is particularly disturbing because it only lightly touches on the horrors of forced labor. It is also disturbing imagining the fear the other workers must have felt thinking that could have been them.
Fatima Bashir
I believe I already posted a comment, but what I said is that it was extremely unsettling with the way Freddie Lee's body was left in the field. Workers had to continue work around him and weren't bale to touch or move him. Even a cow came along and began to eat at him. For me this just represents the cruilty workers/slaves undergo and it is just sick.
Noah Phillips
The most unsettling part of this story to me was when the cow started eating Freddie Lee. It reminded me how trivial our lives can be, though we put so much importance on them. To thee other workers, Lee was a man who loved life and to toil like a machine. To the cow, he was just another piece of food. The cow thought nothing of eating Lee's body. We think ourselves so important but at the end of the day, we're all just a part of the circle of life.
Courteona C.:
The most unsettling part to me was to know that they basically had to walk right over a dead body as if it just was a piece of trash was some sort of torture and more entertainment for them. That could be someone's child, dad, brother etc and to know that you can't even show not even the slightest sympathy or have some compassion kind of upsetted me honestly. Why treat people like they are nothing. It isn't right not pleasant to see.
One thing I found unsettling in this story is that they were still forced to work around the dead body, and they weren't allowed to move it. The smell was probably unbearable and they had to manage to work past that.
-Darius C
One thing I found unsettling was how the workers were still required to work around the dead body and how they were not allowed to touch or move him. I also found it very unsettling how a cow had eventually came over to his body and began eating him.
Kaelyn C.:
What I found most noteworthy about the story is the way the author was able to spin Freddie’s death in a way at the end to make it seem like it was almost made up and we, the readers, had misunderstood something about his death. Especially because the other workers had to work despite the loss of their coworker… it was almost made to feel as if it didn’t happen at all. It gives the book an eerie twist that had not been picked up on in the beginning of the book.
November 18, 2021 at 3:54 PM (posted to blog A1)
What I found most unsettling in this story was the fact that the workers had to continue working around a dead body. The sight and smell must have been terrible. This definitely took a lot of mental and emotional strength especially if that person was friends with some of the workers.
-Ehriana C
The most unsettling thing about this story is how the laborers had to continue to work next to and around Freddie's body. I cannot imagine how traumatizing that must've been for them, especially since some of the laborers were good friends of Freddie.
One of the most unsettling things about this reading is witnessing the decomposing of someone that gave themself and was so devoted to working, get taken for granted, and disrespected on such a level. It was explained that the crops were what Freddie prioritized, as he had a love for it and a determination and drive that pushed him to stay devoted, endlessly to the rice crops. And it's sadly ironic, that he died amongst the crops that he would work so hard to grow. Almost as if he literally gave himself up for them. I also think about the impact that this can have on the laborers that have to work around Freddie's body, that once knew him as a friend, now no longer spiritually there and physically decaying and being eaten apart. This is so traumatic, and I can't imagine the long-term impacts that it can have with making other friendships and relationships there either. Also, this is also unsettling because Papa Troy seems to be leaving Freddie there for the others to notice and smell, and he could be trying to make an example out of him for the others. So it makes you worry about who would be next, and him doing this to Freddie also lets the others know that you can give your all to doing what you're told but that doesn't make you excluded from this type of injustice and disrespect.
I found it unsettling how Freddie’s body was just left in the field and not properly disposed of. The fact that an animal was allowed to chew his body was very disturbing to think about
The most unsettling part of this was the fact that the workers had to work out a dead body! Like that is completely insane, I wonder how they were even focused on their work when there's someone dead laying on the ground. Can you imagine how horrific that may be? Smelling a stench coming from the body? All of the blood and even the mindset it puts the workers in? It was just unsettling because I can't even imagine how that might be.
Meghan N.:
What I find most unsettling about this story is Freddie Lee's body was left to deteriorate. It is also sad he did not get a chance to have a funeral as well,while people continued to work around him. This makes me think about bodies that were lynched, as they did not have a chance to have a funeral either. Those times are scary and tough to think about, as events including lynching still occur today. No respect was paid to the dead.
Shantal T.:
The most unsettling part was the almost unquestioning loyalty that the other characters had for their master. They didn't ask what happened to Freddie, why his body looked like that or why their master chose to let him rot? It was made it unsettling to read the part where he was more upset about them trying to the stop the cow from eating the body than he was about the dead body. Or the part where you inferred that he was picking a mistress from the group.
Rotrisha E.:
This chapter was dreadful when learning about Freddy's dead and decomposing body. It was terrifying an made me quite angry to understand that there were people working and dropping dead. Not only that, people were still working amongst these dead bodies. This is the truth of my ancestors. It makes me realize that a lot of things learned in the classroom is not the clear honest truth. That curriculum barely scratches the surface.
November 29, 2021 at 1:10 PM (posted to A1 blog)
The most unsettling thing to me was that everyone was supposed to act normal despite his death. They were not allowed to mourn, and they were expected to keep working around his decaying body. I can only imagine the psychological toll that took on people along with the God-awful smells the decaying body was giving off.
Marianne H.:
I think one of the most unsettling parts was how no one was allowed to pay attention to his body. Its so cruel that someone would force you to work alongside the dead because profit it was really matters to most people. It reminds me of what my ancestors must've went through in chattel slavery and even afterwards being worked to death in prisions
One of the most unsettling parts to me, was how they wanted no one to pay attention to a dead body they were working next to. Also, that they wasn't allowed to mourn his death and had to keep working while they body was still there.
The most offputting aspect in my opinion was the workers not being allowed to grieve and process the passing of someone in similar circumstances to them. These are psychological attacks that will permanently affect the afflicted, all for a profit.
Torian H
The most unsettling thing about the story is that the workers still had to work with the dead body on the ground. Working around somebody that is deceased is horrific because. of the smell and the sight. Freddie's story is similar to many ancestors which makes the story even more unsettling.
- Lexis L
Carah F.:
I found the overseers reactions to be the most unsettling. He made them leave the body of their friend out in a field instead of allowing a proper burial. But still was angry and hurt when his cow was murdered mysteriously. I thought this was very inconsiderate. Mourning over a cow is ridiculous considering there has been a dead body in his fields for seeming days is ridiculous. However, a lot of things that were suitable in the past that are on longer ok seem unreal when we hear about it.
One of the most unsettling parts to me, was how they wanted no one to pay attention to a dead body they were working next to. Its so cruel that someone would force you to work alongside the dead because profit it was really matters to most people. Working around somebody that is deceased is horrific because. of the smell and the sight.
Mahlik G.:
I found it interesting and unsettling that Papa Troy was more concerned about a cow than Freddie Lee. I believe that truly depicted just how meaningless white men saw black men. Be it that Papa Troy had no sense of decency? It’s truly sad that the reality is…this could truly been the reality for any of my ancestors. I would never know.
Victoria C.:
Not even thinking about the actual message behind the story, I thought this reading was all over the place. The author jumped from one topic to another and left us readers to second guess our train of thought. Aside from that the message was there and I figured it out eventually. It’s like if someone tells you a joke but you don’t quite get it until a few seconds later. That’s how I felt reading this story. On the other hand, what I might consider a negative in storytelling, someone else might consider it a positive. Some people like the jumping around and the fact that it takes some clues and backstory to understand the writing.
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