Re: Salinger's bad influence

Julia Haldemann (haldemann@frankeser.ch)
Thu, 06 May 1999 17:48:00 +0200 

u know ecerytime I come up to ny I cannot stand thta u can't smoke nowever..it's
so horrible...I personaly love smoking the only trouble is that every time I am
with a man he is a no smoker so u allways worry that u breath is horrible or
so....;)

Sean Draine (Exchange) wrote:

> Maybe cigarettes aren't all bad. Sure, they might decrease the quantity of
> your life, but what about quality? I can remember certain cigarettes at
> certain times that I wouldn't trade for anything...
>
> The thing I loved most about smoking was the incomparable joy a cigarette
> would bring when you're in the tremoring grip of a nicotine withdrawal.
> Maybe you had to spend the entire day with Grandma, who would just die if
> she knew you smoked. Or maybe you ran out of butts on the last day of that
> camping trip. When at last the chance comes, you find a suitable location --
> I recommend somewhere with some altitude, like a fire escape or a rooftop --
> take fire to leaf, and breath deeply. You are content.
>
> -Sean
>
> P.S. Of all of the reasons to take up smoking, Zooey ranks among the best.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Thor Cameron [mailto:my_colours@hotmail.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 1999 2:38 PM
> To: bananafish@lists.nyu.edu
> Subject: Re: Salinger's bad influence
>
> Are you kidding?  I've read books about Rock climbing, deep sea fishing, and
>
> shooting herion.  I've never done any of those.  You don't protect by
> sheltering children.  You protect by teaching them to find things as
> distateful as you do.
>
> Thor
>
> >
> >I'm worried about the bad influence Salinger's work might
> >have on teenagers. I am of course talking about the
> >cigarettes. In like 90 % of his stories people are
> >always smoking like crazy. Just think of all those
> >poor stupid little impressionable teenagers who might
> >start smoking after reading Catcher or other stories. So
> >I've come up with an idea. In future editions of
> >Salinger's work, someone should edit out all the
> >cigarettes and replace them with lollipops. This would
> >in no way take away from the meaning and content of
> >the story but it would be much healthier. For instance,
> >Esme could go something like this:
> >
> >    ...Sergeant X took a lollipop and stuck it in his mouth.
> >    He licked it but didn't taste anything. He had been
> >    chain-licking lollipops for weeks...
> >
> >But then again, lollipops are bad for your teeth, so
> >that might be a bad influence too. Maybe we could use
> >fruit or vegatables? Cabbage maybe?
> >
> >On a similar note, for those who are worried about the
> >profanity in Catcher, we could edit that out too.
> >Instead of Holden saying 'Goddamn' all the time he
> >could maybe say 'Golly' or 'Oh darn'.
> >
> >Just a thought...
> >
> >
> >                                        -Grant-
> >
> >
> >"Just because you're paranoid
> >  don't mean they're not after you"
> >                       K. Cobain
> >
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