Bullet to the Brain

So I am trying to play catch up and noticed that the Bullet to the Brain discussion board was still up. So I finally read it and I'm all ready to come back and write my thoughts on it, and wouldn't ya know it, discussion board is gone. So I'll just post a few thoughts on it here.

We saw some use of the Juggling pattern here. Initially the author moved back and forth from the action in the bank to what the main character, Anders was thinking. It helps us understand his actions, like why he laughs after staring at the ceiling. We also get tiny glimpses of his life - what wasn't "flashing before his eyes" in his final moment, which is good use of the Snapshot pattern. It helped the reader connect with the character, as these are things that could have happened in our lives as well. Things we might think we would think about in our final moments:

He did not remember standing just outside his daughter’s door as she lectured her bear about his naughtiness and described the truly appalling punishments Paws would receive unless he changed his ways.

What I really would have liked to see though, is the Aha! pattern at the conclusion that would have made this story hit home. We knew from everything he did not remember, that what he did remember would seem trite in comparison, but I hoped it would have more meaning for the character and reveal some insight into his behavior perhaps or the life flashbacks he didn't have, but that's not what happened. Clearly it's the start of his career as a book critic - the improper grammar "strangely roused" him. But who cares? Does it explain why he is so sarcastic and disparaging? I guess we have to assume that he was just a die hard critic (rimshot!).