Subject: Re: Honeymoon?
From: Paul Kennedy (kennedyp@toronto.cbc.ca)
Date: Thu Oct 12 2000 - 14:20:15 GMT
Hello Fishes!
I'll be the first to admit to being a bit of a lapsed bananafish, of late.
I've been juggling various fires at work. (I think the world can basically
be divided into THREE distinct personality types. Terra divisa est in tres
partae: Fire jugglers, like me; and not unlike the guys who juggle ignited
batons before passing the hat on busy street corners.... Fire fighters, like
Smokey the Bear; and all those guys who ride around on red trucks.... And
those who would prefer to watch either or both of the above....) I've been
working away at a 26-year marriage, while simultaneously attempting to
prevent our 14-year-old daughter from trying to skip the next six years of
her life. And I've been lurking on the list.
Much of what I've read of late has been delightful. I feel a bit guilty
that I've not found time to participate, but I might feel even more guilty
for jumping into conversations that are frankly WAY over my head.
May I illustrate my confusion by citing a recent example from my work? I'm
in the middle stages of preparing a radio documentary on "The Last
Supper".... (To this end, I'm supposed to be flying to Jerusalem next month,
which reveals my absolutely IMPECCABLE sense of timing. I'm allergic to
bullets, but I manage to schedule a quick trip into embattled Israel in
order to tape a FOOD item!) On the weekend, in addition to re-reading A
MOVEABLE FEAST (which had nothing to do with work, or food), I also
(re?)-read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John on what my King James' Version
called "The Lord's Supper".
Although I might also describe myself as allergic to the Bible (the reason
that I parenthesized my above RE-reading of the Gospels is that I can't
remember ever sitting down to systemmatically work my way through any of
them, ever) it was the best time I've had in years. And what I found most
fun was trying to work my way through the sorts of inconsistencies that
various bananafishes have been torturing themselves over in the single
(double) character of Seymour Glass.
Now, I know that there are people who spend their entire lives worrying
about the tiny differences between/amongst the various Gospels. And I
remember a discussion of these differences inspiring one of the most
interesting/boring (depending on one's point of view) sections of WAITING
FOR GODOT. It was fun to do for a weekend, and it's always fun to watch
from a distance. But it probably isn't 'me'....
So I was delighted when I came upon this:
>
>Maybe Jake is right. Perhaps the list needs an easy, agreed-upon code for
>the published and underpublished stories. Any ideas?
>
I have to confess a neo-conservative attachment to the old acroynyms. This
has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that I was present at their
creation. (And Cecilia, if you DARE reveal the fact that I actually cleaned
up the dishes after the first LAST SUPPER, I'll get thee to a nunnery before
the Mets win the World Series.... ahem, You heard it here first.) I don't
think I had anything to do with the arrival of acronyms. I'm pretty sure
that shortened titles were the order of the day LONG before I first dipped
my big toe into the bananafishbowl. I think I remember hating them myself,
at the beginning. It felt very much like the sort of thing a section man
(or woman?) might invent. But I've grown to like them.... And I've used
them myself, from time to time--ALWAYS hoping to mollify Scottie by adhering
rigorously to the rules of capitalisation. So, until someone else suggests
an "easy, agreed-on code", I'll stick with APDfB, TCitR, UWiC, DD-SBP (my
fave!) and FEwLaS. There, I've done it!
>And another passing thought: It would be interesting to know how many
>subscribers there are to bananafish, and, if you have this data, from which
>countries. I guess for the good ole U S of A, a state-by-state breakdown
>would thrill the Census Bureau. (I know, rest-of-the-World, another one of
>those self-centered Americans.)
>
I think I've asked this question before (either publicly or privately) and
immediately forgot the answer. This is either yet another further
indication of pre-mature senility (SHUT UP! Cecilia....) or a solid
suggestion that the answer wasn't interesting. I'm actually intrigued by the
voluntary anonymity of list 'culture'--by which people seem to reveal what
they want others to know about themselves. I have precise--even
vivid--geographical coordinates for many bananafish. Others lurk, and
sometimes even 'speak' from darkest cyberspace. This seems fine by me. But
I'm feeling particularly benificent today.
I forgot to mention that a colleague did a longish interview with the
Salingerina a few weeks back, on the occasion of, well, you know.... I
didn't actually hear the broadcast, but I could probably pry away a cassette
of the conversation. Nobody took me up on my offer of "The Swimmer", but
then again, this isn't a John Cheever list.
Cheers,
Paul
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