Patti wrote : I always thought that Booper pushed Teddy into the pool. I agree with you on your point about the pool. Why would an international cruise liner drain one of their main attractions mid trip ; ) I was reading Teddy last night again after reading discussion on the topic. And was struck again by the paradox that is Teddy and also by Salinger's narrative style. On one side of the coin Teddy is a ten year old child globe trotting spiritual prodigy. Or is he ? He discusses the forsight that he was achieved though meditation. . . He observes the world in a matter of fact way - like the Japanese haikus,(I assume in Japanese they would be haikus), he gives us about cicadas. And like a good buddhist doesn't delve into the world of illusion and supposition. He watches the orange peel float away and reflects upon the whole notion of being. The if I don't see it happen does it really happen thing. And yet then he talks about or presupposes his own death in the pool, an illusion until it actually happens. I'm finding this paradoxical at the moment. Can anybody help ? I think its that old sound of one hand clapping thing again. The other thing I'd like to mention, not having visited Salinger's work for a while, is again as always I was struck by the moments of quiet almost zen-like reflection Salinger gives us. (I'd just read Teddy for the line about the cicadas ). These still lyrical moments are a nice juxtaposition amongst the usual salinger banter and action. natsukashii ne Ja ne alicia