While reading through "Raise High" recently (for the six thousandth time), it occurred to me for the first time that there is a relationship between the title and the Bride's Father's Uncle. The title of the piece, taken from a quote Boo Boo wrote on the mirror in soap, suggests that the height of Seymour, at least on his wedding day, is extraordinary; he is so tall that the carpenters must raise the roof. Yet Buddy's favorite person in the story is a man so short that his *top hat* (more hats, you crazy hat-people) clears the ceiling of the car by four inches. What do you suppose is going on here? Thinking about it just a little bit, I've started to wonder whether the Bride's Father's Uncle (the Short Man, for short--I know; I'm cringing too) isn't a manifestation of Seymour in a story about Seymour where Seymour is very loudly absent. Do you suppose the Short Man could have been Seymour, even unconsciously, to Buddy, and that's why Buddy liked him so? Seymour is expected in Boo Boo's quote to have been very tall because of his wedding day--but he doesn't show up for the wedding, he ruins the entire affair, so in Buddy's mind has Seymour sort of thrown off this height? If so, Seymour is no longer tall, he is absent to defend himself (deaf and dumb for all intents and purposes), and Buddy is the only one who can communicate Seymour to the others, much in the same way that Buddy, who is the only one in possession of pencil and paper, must communicate for the Short Man. Then--get this--the, after Seymour does finally decide to run off and get married to Muriel, Buddy all of a sudden loses his affinity for the Short Man. This loss of admiration has puzzled me for awhile now, and I've tried to link it to Buddy's drunkenness (drunkenness always indicates a sort of disenchantment in Salinger's writing), but perhaps the drunkenness was only a part of it--the other part being Seymour having grown tall again. I know what a lot of you are going to say--I'm reaching too far. I know. I know. But please give this some consideration and let me know what you think. the long-armed Brendan ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com