Naw, not like Powder. I’m thinking more like Sgt. York.
Folks who may have been total bastards for much of their lives and then ker-pow in the space of a few days or hours “see the light” and make a conscious and lasting effort to change themselves for the better. Maybe they atttribute it to an act of God as in the Sgt. York story, or maybe a 3 or 4 day period of rest and reflection following a nervous breakdown. But for some reason the person has said to themself, “You’re all wrong. Stop doing this and that, and start conducting yourself in this or that way.” And the change takes hold immediately and the person never looks back to the ‘old ways.’
Not heart attack “wake up calls” or such like that. I’m thinking more along the lines of, “Wow, I’m really a destructive force in other peoples’ lives. I want to change starting right…now.”
Anybody here have personal experience with this? What was the nature of the change? What does the person believe caused it? Specifically, does anyone know, personally, of a case in which a sense of moral character–selfless accountability–was received where before this degree of character was lacking?