Let’s Write a Novel Chapter 3, Conclusion

John Everett Millais, 1829 - 1896
Ophelia, 1852
Tate Gallery London

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Note: The novel from the start can be found by clicking on Lets Write a Novel , my associated blog. Some corrections and changes appear there as well as some notes and questions I need to address. As you have no doubt noticed, writing a novel is, at least for me, a bit ragged. This little bit cost me a lot of grief as it introduces the heroine, if only her name.

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101 North Washington Street
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Chapter 3, Conclusion

¶7
Today, in 2007, Starke Center’s finest knows how many pickles Peter Piper picked, however knowing what a peck actually is proves more elusive. In 1907 Starke Center’s finest not only knew how many pickles were picked, but even what a peck was. More impressively they knew a little about Plutarch, Petrarch, Plato, Pliny, Pindar, and perhaps (the perverse) even knew Petronius. There is a cultural gulf or chasm between us and them, difficult for us to fathom. Then Chautaqua was all the rage. Especially in rural communities there was a hunger for learning and culture. Classics and Great Books with 10-year study guides were marketed to the Lady’s (even some men’s) Reading Societies. Concerts and lectures were widely appreciated and attended. So it was considered agreeable, even good, that Mr. Fritz Leiber did a bit of lecturing to supplement the acting. It made the scenes that much more enjoyable. Fritz did 3 different takes on “Alas, poor Yorick!” with Hamlet growing more mad each rendition. So the audience’s expectations were trebly gratified.

¶8
Mr. Leiber and Miss Drew cleverly adapted Queen Gertrude’s description of Ophelia’s drowning. Ethel, as Ophelia, danced gracefully onto the stage. Ophelia’s impossibly long and curly blond tresses were a Pre-Raphaelite daydream. Cascades of flowers and ivies were entwined in her hair and trailed down her beautifully full (10 yards of seeded batiste), luxuriant nightgown. Leiber, still attired as Hamlet, stood just on stage and in melodious voice began,

“There is a willow grows aslant a brook,
That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream;
There with fantastic garlands did she come
Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples….”

Onstage was a simple set. A willow with flowering vine overhanging a mirrored brook. Ophelia stretched over the brook grasping the slim willow bough as the voice continued…

“There, on the pendent boughs her coronet weeds
Clambering to hang, an envious sliver broke;
When down her weedy trophies and herself
Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide..”

The audience gasped in sympathy as poor Ophelia fell into the clutches of the brook. Her hair spread gloriously over the mirror as she the began to quietly sing bits of folk songs.

“And, mermaid-like, awhile they bore her up:
Which time she chanted snatches of old tunes;
As one incapable of her own distress,
Or like a creature native and indued
Unto that element: but long it could not be
Till that her garments, heavy with their drink,
Pull'd the poor wretch from her melodious lay
To muddy death.”

It might be stated with some hyperbole that, “there wasn’t a dry eye in the house”. In any case, Sara Weiss was quite touched, as we shall soon see.

¶9
Later that evening, upstairs at 101 North Washington Street as Mr. And Mrs. Weiss prepared for bed, Sara jolted poor unsuspecting Abraham as she quietly said, “If it’s a girl, I shall name her Ophelia.” And that, my dear reader, is how my poor mother, received her rather sad name.

Lawyers I Have Known and Hated, Part 1

The Starke County Election Board has asked for an emergency appropriation for legal expenses to defend themselves against Mayor Dennis Estok. The County will have to pay a Valparaiso law firm $200.00 per hour.

Starke Circuit Court Judge Hall has recused himself from the case. This is appropriate and I applaud the Judge for taking this sensible and correct action.

Meanwhile, Estok, henceforth to be called Idiot-Mayor and his attorney, Bedrock, henceforth to be called Idiot-Lawyer, have ‘refined’ their ‘case’. Why I call these two characters idiots is that they think their case actually has merit. It seems Estok (oops! I mean Idiot-Mayor) and Idiot-Lawyer (OK! Now I’m hitting on all 1 cylinder) BELIEVE, deep in their parsimonious skulls, that Idiot-Mayor somehow got screwed in the election. My God! The supposed ‘refinement’ of the legal geniuses is that now they do not accuse their enemy and political opponent Mr. Chambers of torturing old folks in the nursing home or otherwise twisting people’s arms to intimidate these innocent and presumably simple-minded voting folks. Now they claim that voters were encouraged by nefariously hazy unidentified Chambers’ advocates of illegally voting absentee.

Idiot-Mayor and Idiot-Lawyer read on the “Application for Absentee Ballot” the following. “I [the absentee voter] have a specific, reasonable expectation of being absent from the county on election day during the entire 12 hours that the polls are open.” There are 9 other reasons listed on the absentee ballot as well. The voter needs to check off one of these reasons. So I suppose that the absentee voters most likely read these reasons. Then they have to sign the form “under penalty of perjury”. There is also a place on the form for those nefarious people that assist a person filling out the Absentee Ballot Application. The penalty is quite severe for screwing around. The punishment is "perjury AND Class D felony" (3 years and $10 grand). OK that’s clear as can be, isn’t it? It doesn’t say that if you cheat the election will be invalid does it?

Most of us understand that the United States, the State of Indiana, and the Starke County Election Commission have actually been encouraging absentee voting as a means of increasing voter turnout. Allow me to quote from a press release dated October 17, 2003 from Todd Rokita, Indiana Secretary of State: “And now you can vote absentee for any reason at all if you are willing to stop by the county clerk’s office during any of the 30 days before election day.” And I have already mentioned in a previous blog, if election laws were broken, as these idiots are claiming, then they have a duty to report that fraud to ol’ Todd mentioned above. Here is a little assistance from me to these 2 idiots: They can get the official Election Fraud and Grievance Form online at http://www.in.gov/sos/elections/hava/pdf/grievance.pdf from the Indiana Secretary of State. Why don’t they do that and save the taxpayers of Starke County about $50,000 in attorney fees? Morons!

I do have a suggestion to the Starke County Election Board. They need stop this rotten, stupid BS right now. I think a suit for bringing a frivolous action is very appropriate. An ethics and incompetence complaint to the Indiana Bar Association might make sense as well. Let Idiot-Mayor and Idiot-Lawyer risk a little something in this lawsuit, not just the taxpayers.

Let’s Write a Novel Chapter 3, Paragraphs 5 and 6

.................Kenneth Branagh and poor Yorick...............
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Today's trivia question to prepare you for the “Clash of Civilizations”:
I'll bet you can't finish this quote by providing the last word in the sentence:
Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him.........:
Click here and Scoll down to "Interests" for the answer.

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Note: The novel from the start can be found by clicking on Lets Write a Novel , my associated blog. Some corrections and changes appear there as well as some notes and questions I need to address. As you have no doubt noticed, writing a novel is, at least for me, a bit ragged.


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101 North Washington Street

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Chapter 3, Paragraphs 5 and 6

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¶5
The Weiss and Warner Opera House was located above the Weiss Department Store. Abraham Weiss and Tom Werner erected the building, the grandest on Main Street, fully intending the dual use. The Opera House, on the 2nd floor and its balcony, was well booked. There were regular dances and many traveling troupes providing a fair range of entertainments. The downtown Starke Center railroad station with service from Chicago to Fort Wayne and beyond was only a short walk from the opera house and the Nickel Plate Hotel and Restaurant. It was a logical stop for entertainment ventures with a free day on their hands, either coming out of Chicago or on their way to the country’s 2nd city.

¶6

The weather having turned a bit blustery, Abe and Sara accepted the short ride to “Impressions from the Bard” in the Werner’s carriage. The crowd settled in expecting to be well entertained. In those days the wonderment and charm of the theater was more easily attainable. Entrancing the audience didn’t require elaborate sets, costumes, or ultra realistic effects. Reasonably talented acting and presentation did the trick. The audience was quite familiar with Shakespeare. The “Complete Works” were in many households and the book wasn’t being used as a decorative accessory on the coffee table. It was read; read in school and at home; and enjoyed, (which I understand is quite hard to believe in this day and age). This audience, that unsettled spring evening in Starke Center, expected and knew that they would receive a familiar mediation on life’s frailty from a handsome young Prince Hamlet, on a fresh grave with poor Yorick’s rotted skull in hand. They were speculating aloud as to what else might be in store when the house lights dimmed, a thunder sheet rumbled, and they quickly schussed or were schussed.

Let’s Write a Novel Chapter 3, Paragraph 3 – 4

Note: The novel from the start can be found by clicking on Lets Write a Novel , my associated blog. Some corrections and changes appear there as well as some notes and questions I need to address. As you have no doubt noticed, writing a novel is, at least for me, a bit ragged.

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101 North Washington Street
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Chapter 3, Paragraphs 3 - 4
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It would be a safe bet that Abe was the only man in Starke Center possessing a Tuxedo. There was no occasion for formal wear much less the fine gradations that would later become known as white tie and black tie. These fine distinctions of fine living that were so carefully recorded in the aforementioned T & C magazine were completely irrelevant to life in the Center. It is true that Abe and Sara were prone to feeling and acting superior to their neighbors in Starke Center. From our vantage point we find it odd that they were not accused by their friends and neighbors of “putting on airs”. But it was well understood that Mr. and Mrs. Weiss were indeed superior. They had been to Europe.
Abraham Weiss had money and handled it with the ease displayed by the 2nd generation of wealth. Sara Weiss was educated, artistic, beautiful and very stylish. Anyway, the people who might care, Mrs. Werner and the other members of the Woman’s Arts Council admired the mantel of culture worn so gracefully. Envy isn’t possible when the gap is too wide. The poor don’t envy the rich. The rich envy the more rich.

I think we could skip a detailed description of dinner. Suffice it to say that Fritz and Ethel were both in the early stages of what would be good careers. They were sincerely grateful for the patronage of the Woman’s Arts Council and the free meal. They guests admired Sara’s painting and poetry. At the piano Mrs. Werner accompanied the beautiful Miss Drew singing sweetly some popular melodies. Mr. Leiber was always good at a party with his vast repertoire, from parlor magic to vaudeville. It seems so inviting and utterly pleasant doesn’t it? At least it seems so in comparison to watching “American Idol” on the television.

Expect Showers

I wondered aloud in my last blog about Mayor Estok’s lawyer. Seems it is Martin Bedrock. (I know it can be confusing but he is not an animated character from the stone age. Too bad. He could probably get a nice settlement for Wilma due to Fred’s constant abuse). He is however, consul for Knox City Council. I think he has offered legal advice to the Mayor during the Council meetings. There just seems to be something inherently wrong with a lawyer representing the Mayor in his official capacity and getting a check from the government and then also representing the mayor in an election dispute. There was a City Council seat decided in this election. If election results are thrown out as Estok seems to want, then I suppose the Council race is also invalid. Maybe there is no conflict here but I don’t like the smell of it.

Martin Bedrock is a conservative Republican. What a strange choice for a Democrat Mayor. I guess I wouldn’t be surprised to see Estok switch parties and run as a Republican in the Fall. Seems like the Republican clouds are gathering.

Poor Loser

Today's trivia question to prepare you for the “Clash of Civilizations”:
The Fox and the Grapes is a fable attributed to who?
Click here and Scoll down to "Interests" for the answer.

Mayor Estok surprised me. He has contested the election. He lost by 13 votes out of about 1,000. The suit seems frivolous or just plain stupid. According to The NewsHawk (I know. God Forbid! We should rely of that!) Estok said that because of the high absentee vote count, “I became uneasy about the legality of the ballots.” Well he got 94 absentees and Chambers got 156.

Newsflash to Estok: This just shows you got out hustled at the nursing home. For whatever reason Chambers was more liked by that crowd.

My reaction as a Democrat to your actions: You stink. Unless you turn up a lot more than your vague Bull Shit, all that you can possibly do is hurt the party, and hurt yourself. You shot yourself in the foot with your handling of the police matter, and the (essential) firing of Chambers for no good reason. Your instincts for self-destruction are now running in high gear. May I remind you that the Judge is a strongly partisan Republican? If he feels like damaging the Democrat Party, he will hear this case. It certainly won’t be on the merits.

I shall never again vote for you. And I urge other Democrats to follow suit.

P.S. The candidates have an opportunity to examine and challenge absentee ballots prior to their being counted. If a voter was not an eligible the challenge should have been presented to the election judge at that time. Any knowledge of illegal harassment and pressure should have caused a criminal complaint to be filed with the police and a police investigation. At this point, after the absentee ballots have been opened then mixed with the other absentee votes, it is impossible to identify any so-called illegal ballots. Even if Estok could show that there were problems, it is too late to do anything about it. He had a legal duty to prevent those so-called illegal ballots from being cast. By not doing so prior to the opening of the ballots, he assisted in the law breaking by his complacancy. Now his complaint is silly and stupid. It makes me doubt the veracity of his complaint. I wonder who his stupid attorney is anyway? What an incredible waste. It's just sour grapes.

Maybe a New Mayor

An Election Entertainment (Four Prints of an Election, Plate 1)
Click here for link to more info about the print.
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Today's trivia question to prepare you for the “Clash of Civilizations”:
Who is the artist of the above print? Click here and Scoll down to "Interests" for the answer.
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The recent primary election in Knox presented only 2 contested races, both races on Democrat Party ticket. His Honor, Mayor Estok, was defeated in a close contest by former Police Chief, Rick Chambers. Rich Neuburg, formerly of the Family Cafe, defeated Greg Matt, formerly of the Post office, for City Council. Both races contained a wee bit of interest to Blogger Knox Indiana. Therefore, with no further ado, I shall analyze these contests.

On April 16 I posted Sex In Our City. This was about the incompetent firing of a Knox City policeman. (Please don’t misunderstand me; the officer shouldn’t have been hired to begin with.) The piss poor administration of the city’s business concerned me. Why he was hired to begin with, why he wasn’t fired for cause earlier, and why he was fired for a very stupid cause ultimately was my interest in the matter. I wasn’t able to ascertain who exactly was responsible for the firing so I didn’t blast the Mayor. Of course the voters understand quite well that the Mayor is somehow responsible for the mess. The half dozen votes Estok needed and didn’t get certainly could be considered a consequence of this mess.

It is not a coincidence that Rick Chambers was involved in this matter. Chief Chambers refused to hire this officer when he was Chief because he didn’t regard this individual to be adequate, psychologically speaking, for the job. The rumor is that when Estok became mayor he ordered Chambers to hire this candidate for the department. Chambers refused and ultimately resigned his position as Chief and retired from the city police department, evidently under some duress.

It is my opinion that the Police Chief acted in the best interest of the police candidate, the best interest of the city, and in the best interest of Mayor Estok, when Chambers refused to hire this person. Subsequent events have proven the case: The policeman had to be fired ultimately, the city is being sued for the firing, and the Mayor lost the election because Chambers was free to run, no longer being police chief.

The reason I say in the title, Maybe a New Mayor, is that the Republicans have yet to announce their candidate for Mayor in the fall election. I suppose Estok could make a go at that. I think that would be ill advised.

The Matt vs. Neuburg race presented me, as a voter, with a Thesauri of choices: Awful. Dreadful. Terrible. Stinky. Appalling. Dire. Ghastly. Horrendous. Horrible. Shocking. PLEASE, Republicans…run somebody…ANYBODY! Pretty please. I promise to split my ticket for the first time in 40 years..

Let’s Write a Novel Chapter 3, Paragraph 1 – 2

..............Fritz Leiber, Sr. in his studio..................

Note: The novel from the start can be found by clicking on Lets Write a Novel , my associated blog.

Some corrections and changes appear there as well as some notes and questions I need to address. As you have no doubt noticed, writing a novel is, at least for me, a bit ragged. But the creation is starting to jell, at least in my imagination. I am contemplating a rewrite of Chapter 1 for obvious reasons. (It stinks).

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101 North Washington Street

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Chapter 3, Paragraph 1 - 2

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¶1
It was going to be a wonderful evening! Sara floated around the dining room double checking the table setting. Tonight they would have 4 guests, 2 couples, Marge Warner and her husband Tom and, the terribly exciting and interesting guests, Fritz Leiber the great Shakespearean actor from Chicago and his charming and talented companion, Miss Ethel Drew. Tomorrow night Mr. Leiber and Miss Drew were presenting “Impressions from the Bard” at the Reiss and Warner Opera House. The production, sponsored by the Starke Center Woman’s Arts Council, Mrs. Weiss Chairwoman and Mrs. Werner Vice-Chair, promised to be the highlight of the entertainment season in Starke Center. It certainly was a moment to savor.
¶2
Abe strolled into the room wearing his new and handsome lounge suit. Sara was quite pleased that she had convinced Abraham to acquire this bit of fine tailoring, perfect for “less formal gatherings of just a few couples”, that right off the pages of “Town and Country”. Mr. Leiber certainly would see that they weren’t all bumpkins in Starke Center. Sara had on finery equal to her husband’s, a lovely silk taffeta dress, not too formal of course. Still, this wasn’t going to be equal to an evening in New York’s Club at Tuxedo Park. Sara was pretty certain that Marge and Tom would be attired in something awfully old fashioned.

Let’s Write a Novel Chapter 2, Paragraph 4 - 5

I have started another blog called "Lets write a Novel". It contains our story thus far but is laid out from start to finish. there are also some editorial notes and questions at the end of each chapter. Click on "View My Complete My Profile" and scroll to the bottom for a link to "Lets write a Novel".

Abe’s reasoning about the lack of wealth was only partially correct. The geography of Starke Center was also to blame for lack of a street or section of fine homes. The glaciers (mentioned in the Prologue) left the windblown sand foundations of Starke Center awfully flat. The later half of her name indicates the main reason for the location of the town (crisscrossing railroad tracks another). A vast swamp, now drained by a series of muddy ditches, flowed into the Yellow River. River may be an overly generous word to describe this man-dug, arrow straight, turbid ditch but there was a generous flow of water. Starke Center sat on a low, flat sandy ridge overlooking the river and the Knox Country Club on the floodplain. This might have been the best location for a row of finer homes, as there was no other geographic attraction to compete. Unfortunately, one of the railroad lines plowed right through the length of the ridge on its was through town depriving Abraham the realization of his rather bourgeois daydream.

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Am I being a little too hard on Abraham? Perhaps. I guess now is the right time to disclose, if not “a conflict of interest”, a material fact. I’m Abraham and Sara’s granddaughter. Matter of fact, I’m their only descendent. Of course this fact inspired my ironic “Honest to God” outburst a little while back. My heart has been hardened towards Abe by the bitter story of my Mother. Of course we must let this story unfold in its due course. Our story should flow in the beautiful manner of a sensuous and sinuous river. There’s no beauty in a straight line.

Hey! I got a rise out of somebody!

The agent of the Amish Cook perhaps took my earlier blog Oxymoron: Amish Cook a little too seriously! This was posted at the Oasis Newsfeatures website this weekend:

Hmmm, Should I Be Offended or Amused?
Published on May 20, 2007 by Kevin Williams in Blog

“Okay, it's a slow blog day and while just randomly surfing through cyberspace, I stumbled upon this bizarre blog entry from a writer in the tiny town of Knox, Indiana. Apparently the writer had nothing better to do than dissect the Amish Cook's writing style, or, in her opinion, lack thereof. I always tell editors before they subscribe to the column, that Lovina's writing is never going to win a Pulitzer Prize for literary excellence, but that isn't the point of the column. The column's main mission is to connect people in today's fast-paced whirling world to a time when life was a little simpler and less materialistic. Some of the writer's points were humorous: she was correct in pointing out the double cliche. That wasn't one of Lovina's strongest journalistic moments. I wasn't quite as amused when she started making veiled references to the lack of education. With all candor, I've met many Amish who are as well-read or are as successful of a entrepreneur with their eighth grade education as I have people with college degrees. So, anyone else have any thoughts? Should I be amused at the entry? Or offended?”

You can express your opinion on the Oasis Newsfeatures Blog if you so desire. http://amishcookonline.com/index.php?p=292

Blogger Knox Indiana only wishes to say that there is such a thing as quality. To some folks quality doesn't matter nearly so much as the intent. For example they might say, "It's the thought that counts." when they have to defend bad quality. I don't think that is a valid defense for poor quality in a public, professional setting. I didn't know what degree of education the Amish tended to have, so this agent's "veiled reference" is imaginary. It was, in fact, an unveiled reference to the actual level of quality of the writing of "The Amish Cook". Although I haven't actually witnessed a well-read Amish person, I really have no doubt that it might be possible that there be such a person. Certainly Lovina does NOT rise to that description. It would be quite nice "to connect people in today's fast-paced whirling world to a time when life was a little simpler and less materialistic." But I think that statement pretty much says, "It's the thought that counts".

Let’s Write a Novel: Chapter 1, Paragraphs 5 & Chapter 2, Paragraphs 1- 3

101 North Washington Street

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Chapter 1 (conclusion)

This talk of pogroms isn’t some foreshadowing of terrible things to come in Starke Center. In fact the future was bright. The three Jewish families, merchant, junk dealer, and pickle packer, would all thrive. In this regard our story is commonplace; describing the thriving Jewish experience in small towns all across America.

Chapter 2

It was a short and pleasant walk home after closing the store. The fine spring weather coincided beautifully with a very nice take in the till. Easter was the second most important selling season at the Weiss Department Store. Good weather in the weeks leading up to Easter always inspired the shopper to dig a bit deeper in her purse. The millinery department was booming; hats were big this year, figuratively and literally. Open only 5 years and Abe was so optimistic about business that he felt financially comfortable building the finest home in town.

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Sara had made most of the decisions about the house. Although Abe had nixed the Chicago architect in favor of a South Bend firm, she got pretty much what she was after: sun rooms downstairs and upstairs, a fine library, and grand staircase in an impressive entry hall, 2 parlors, and a dining room with fireplace and leaded glass windows. It is what we would call “Prairie Style Influenced” if we wanted to project a certain priggish sophistication. We might even go on about the Art Nouveau or the Frank Lloyd Wright influence. But that is pretty much ridiculous. In fact the place was a big square house just like the few other grand big square houses in town. It had the bric-a-brac fine touches in the sconces and chandeliers and the tile around the hearth where today a realtor would discover the Prairie School influence for the benefit of a sale. A really cheesy real estate sales lady might even insinuate in a stage whisper, “Who knows, I don’t think anybody has really researched it, but this could be a genuine Frank Lloyd Wright house!”

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As Abe turned the corner onto Washington Street he could see his stucco upper story and his slate roof rising above the intervening modest clapboard dwellings of his neighbors. He thought, “It’s kind of a shame we don’t have a street or section of fine homes in Starke Center. There just isn’t enough wealth in town.” Of course that wasn’t the first time he had that thought. Those exact words were proclaimed upon several private and social occasions in the past and he was destined to repeat those exact words again, so often, as to become quite a bore on that point.

Let’s Write a Novel: Chapter 1, Paragraphs 1- 4

The novel continues….. Need I say it? Although this novel is meant to capture a certain spirit of Knox, Indiana, this is fiction.Knox and her history and her citizens are the inspiration. No person living or dead is being depicted here. Please feel free to be my editor; comment and suggest….
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101 North Washington Street

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Chapter 1, Paragraphs 1 through 4

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100 years ago there were Jews in Starke Center, Indiana. There certainly weren’t very many members of the tribe of Israel but there were more then than at present. Today in 2007, the only Jewish citizens of Starke Center are those few that intermarried with a son of the community. This invariably happened during their hot-bloodied and weak-headed college years. The offspring of these intermarriages certainly don’t worry much about any sort of religious or cultural Jewish tradition and don’t particularly stand out from the crowd of raucous or sullen children on the public school grounds. More likely than not they end up going to church on Sundays.

The 1907 census of Jews was brief. Just where the 2 rail lines crossed at the edge of town, the scrap metal and junk dealer (David) nurtured his business and family. A few miles out of town on one of those same rail lines, the potato, onion, asparagus, and pickle packer (Israel) nurtured his business and abused his family. To finish the list we must add the owner of the Weiss Department Store (Abraham) just starting a family in his quite splendid and very fashionable new home on 101 North Washington Street, a decent and sensible city block from the rails.

Always carefully considering the dangers of exciting envy, David the junkman and Israel the pickle broker each maintained a shabby lifestyle, living well below their means. Of course this care to be modest and unobtrusive about their wealth backfired, as it always has even since the enslavement in Egypt. Because they hid their wealth they were naturally branded penny-pinching, greedy Jews, the ugly killers of Christ. Somewhat ironically and entirely typically, David and Israel were always first to donate generously to the victims of fire and flood. Was this due to their natural compassion, the commandments of their religion, or the hope to throw off the Curse of Cain, the murder of Christ? The answer is no doubt a bit of all the forgoing.

Abraham Weiss was far less worried than his two brethren. The new home on Washington Street was the finest in Starke Center. Abraham’s wife Sara (Honest to God, he married a gal named Sara!) was artistic, educated and cultured. (Today we would call her artsy-fartsy.) Abraham’s family had been in America for 2 generations and Sara’s for 3. David and Israel and their wives were all immigrants. Of course there was the social gulf but the important distinction between the Weisses and the other Jewish families was their lack of fear. Abraham and Sara hadn’t had the experience of an old fashioned, ass-kicking, Russian pogrom.

Let’s Write a Novel: Prologue

By profession I am a novelist. However, enough time has passed since my last novel that I might easily be characterized as either retired or presumed dead. So I thought to myself, “Marian, you should write a novel: a Great American Kind’a Sort’a Like Knox Novel. And, Marian, you should make it part of the Knox Indiana Blog." You, dear readers, may be my editors. What follows is the prologue of a book entitled

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101 North Washington Street

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Prologue

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Landscape is too kind of a word. Most likely there is no word. It was an ocean of ice, a mile deep, uninterrupted over 100 miles to the south and a seeming infinity to the north. On 11 occasions the ice sheet, this ocean of ice, advanced and retreated over what was to become the town that is the focus of our attentions. The last retreat was a mere 10,000 years ago. That is equal to about an hour in this young planet’s history. (Oh my, that does beg the question of the appropriateness of planet “hours” being compared to advanced middle-age woman hours. However, this is a question that I mean to leave hanging for eternity.)

Regarding that first paragraph. My intentions were honorable, I meant to emulate, not copy that grandiose vision of nature that my sister Jane used to open her saga of the northern prairies of Iowa. Emulation is fair enough, certainly commonplace and often quite fruitful. After all, she won the Pulitzer and wasn’t a bit shy about ripping off the Bard himself. I clearly have failed. Ah, but the story still needs to be told. So going back a planet hour…

As one might expect, the retreating edge of the Wisconsin Glacier retreated to the north in the summer and advanced to the south in the winter. 2 steps back and 1 forward, thus was the ground that would become Starke Center revealed. The melting ice was filled with all manner of detritus carried all the way from Hudson Bay. We only need concern ourselves with the sand, windblown sand say the geologists. (Evidently there was considerable wind on the edge of a mile high sheet of ice.) This windblown sand is the foundation of Starke Center. And upon the sand Abraham Weiss built his magnificent house.

That was just a planetary 30 seconds ago, the year: 1907. And no more mention need be made of planet time.

Let’s Do a Merger!

........Robert Minor, St Louis Post-Dispatch (1908).........

Today's trivia question to prepare you for the “Clash of Civilizations”.
Guess how many libraries Carnegie built in Indiana: 26, 75, 96, or 165
Click here and Scoll down to "Interests" for the answer.


This is the heyday of World Capitalism: Mergers, Acquisitions, Leveraged Buyouts, Venture Capital Funds, Hedge Funds, Private Capital Buyouts. You name it; there’s a way to play the system for fun and profit.

Knox is the home of the main library of the Starke County Public Library System. There are 4 libraries all told with teeny-tiny branches in Koontz Lake, Hamlet, and San Pierre. The name, Starke County Public Library System, is not accurate, because, in fact it does not include all of Starke County. It excludes Wayne Township, with its own North Judson-Wayne Twp. Public Library.

So here is the Knox situation. It seems that Knox Library has 3 Professional Librarians, each one accredited in Library Science. This is truly an astoundingly fortuitous situation in light of the fact that there is a nationwide shortage of professional librarians. The Starke County system is in excellent financial condition. The staff is well paid and loyal. The main library building is in good condition with excellent technology. But they have 3 very wasteful branches. The Koontz Lake, Hamlet, and San Pierre branches have insignificant patronage and meager collections. Very large amounts of money have been wasted on computers and technology for these 3rd rate facilities. The situation is political. Appointees from the outlying townships will fight tooth and nail to keep their pathetic branch alive.

The North Judson-Wayne Twp. Public Library bit off a bit more than they could chew a few years ago. Their old Andrew Carnegie building was beautifully and extravagantly remodeled. They overbuilt, just as The Knox Schools overbuilt. Both systems have found it difficult to maintain the physical plant and quality of service on the Indiana frozen levy. North Judson Library has had to sacrifice an efficient operating budget. They have one very underpaid professional Librarian. Their collection is starving and the catalog remains off-line. When their librarian retires, they will be screwed as they have insufficient funds to recruit a new librarian.

Ah Ha! A Merger! North Judson merges with the Starke County System. San Pierre branch closes with no loss to anybody. The San Pierre budget is transferred to North Judson. North Judson acquires (basically for free) the advanced technology they can’t presently afford to bring their collection online. There are plenty of well-paid professionals. The oversize North Judson debt becomes manageable. More books, better service, less waste.

Wow what a good idea Marian! Too bad this has no chance, eh? If this was “real” money, that is not governmental “play” money, this would have happened years ago.

PS: The coming growth in Hamlet makes it quite sensible to plan to build a new library on US 30 near Grovertown and close Koontz Lake and Hamlet branches.

Announcing a Photography Exhibition

.............. Poppies, Beautiful Poppies ...............
.............. Photo by Marian Cross ...............
..... please click on image for larger view .....

My Dear Gentle Readers,

What a delightful time of year. Please consider submitting your photos to be published on this blog. You may submit anonymously, under a pen name, or even your real name. Attach your photo to an email and send to knox.indiana@hotmail.com.

Marian

How’s Our Library Doing? Part 5, Reading Lolita in Knox

Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM Weekly On-Line 1 - 7 June 2006Issue No. 797 Special.
2 young women reading about the Iranian parliamentary election of February 2000 in the leading reformist newspaper Mosharekat

My title above is a not-so-subtle reference to “Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books” (2003) by Azar Nafisi available in the Starke County Public Library’s Knox branch, the Schricker Library.

First let’s talk about “Lolita”, (1955) a novel by Vladimir Nabokov. This book provoked a storm when finally published by Olympia Press (Paris) after being turned down by the major the American Publishers. It was banned in Great Britain and France. When Putman published the book in 1958 in America it sold 100,000 copies in 3 weeks (the best seller since "Gone with the Wind" in 1936). Because Lolita has become firmly entrenched in American Culture, I assume all my readers over 40 years old have at least a vague idea about the book. And that will suffice for our purpose today. Younger readers might go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolita and read all about it. The book is widely considered one of the finest novels of the 20th century. Good news: our library has it plus the other major works of Nabokov.

Now let’s talk about “Reading Lolita in Tehran”. In 1995 a brave lady, Azar Nafisi , started a secret mostly English language Literature class, just for young women, teaching the banned works of authors like Jane Austen, Henry James, Vladimir Nabokov, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Teaching this class put both the students and teacher at great peril from very violent Iranian censors. This book is a delightful read because it combines a gripping memoir with very inspiring literary criticism. And I happen to be very fond of literary criticism.

Now let’s talk about literary criticism. One wouldn’t really expect the Knox library to have much in the way of literary criticism. Books like “Lolita” hardly ever get checked out so it would be difficult for a librarian to justify buying interpretations and criticism of the text. My argument for having literary criticism on the shelf is, most would say, elitist. However I think that “Reading Lolita in Tehran” supports my point of view on this matter and I would hope that my readers would read this book and consider this point.

Wonder-of-wonders! The Knox library has an excellent little literary criticism on Lolita, “Lolita : A Janus Text” (1995) by Lance Olsen, a Twayne's masterwork study. And herein lies the point of writing all the above which, after all, has little to do with my mission to write about Knox, Indiana. There is a bookplate inside the front cover of this fine little book of scholarly literary criticism. It reads, “This Young Adult Collection Is Funded By Lilly Endowment Inc And The Starke County Community Foundation Thru [sic] a Grant To Friends Of the Library 1999”. Ah ha! So there is a story as to how we have come to have this book in our library.

Evidently in 1999 the Friends of the Library applied for and got a $15,000 grant to improve our Young Adult book collection. This windfall must have presented a difficult but pleasant problem for the librarian. After all, it is a rather narrow area of interest. As I searched the shelves I noticed that there were multiple examples of literary criticism, usually the sole text on a particular subject, that were purchased with this grant. In my opinion these particular books make our library rather exceptional in a good way.


Now for the sad part of this literary tale: The Friends of the Library no longer exists. They ceased being earlier this year, the official reason: lack of interest in the leadership positions. However, there was a great deal of interest in membership as there was no problem whatsoever getting people to join and pay their dues. So what really happened? Most libraries would fight like crazy to keep a Friends of the Library group going. The $15,000 Young Adult book grant is a great example of why. The library is a governmental unit. Organizations like the Lilly Endowment and Starke County Community Foundation to not give money to governmental agencies. They want to see non-governmental entities grow and thrive. I strongly agree with Lilly. (This idea is brilliantly expressed by Francis Fukuyama’s idea that the unique strength of our society is in its voluntary associations like churches, fraternal orders, charities, and axilluary organizations of hospitals, colleges, and even libraries. refer to, “Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity”)

So what really happened? The Friends of Starke County Public Library System met with irrational and terrible hostility from the then President of the Board of Trustees, Marilyn Swanson. She pretty much soured anybody from wanting to be a leader of the group. Happily for us not so happy for Culver Schools Ms. Swanson was off the Library Board for a couple of years when she got an appointment to the Culver School Board to fill an open spot. When she failed to get elected to that position in the following election she went back on the Library Board. So the enemy of the Friends (sounds odd doesn’t it? Well it sure as Hell is odd!) is back on the Library’s Board of Trustees. Goodbye Friends of the Library.

P.S. Those geniuses on the Knox School Board appointed Marilyn Swanson. Thanks.

Question to the Librarian and the Library Board: Why don't you get the Friends going again? Publicize and truly support it. Swanson is only one vote. Your lack of support is shameful.

That explains it.

These were 4 comments posted recently in response to Let’s ask Leonardo. I have had style, word usage, and other subtle linguistic markers in the text analyzed by the noted Forensic Linguistic Scientists, Hugh Potter and Mee Wun Lee, University of New England. These eminent scholars agree that these 4 texts were most likely written by 1 individual so should be regarded as 1 text. I will respond accordingly. Here is the text. My response shall follow.

Anonymous said... 4/30/2007 8:24 PM
how the fuck would u know knoxindiana??! ur a fucking douche bag who is too afraid to actually devulge herself and let speak what you believe. I'm sure u wouldnt say half the things you say if u weren't "anonymous", so i figure i should be too huh? Even though we all know who u r...cunt!

Anonymous said... 4/30/2007 8:37 PM
bitch you're fucked up

Anonymous said... 4/30/2007 8:37 PM
omg...this lady is fucking nuts!

Anonymous said... 4/30/2007 8:39 PM
someone needs to shut knoxindiana the fuck up! she prolly just cant get laid so she bitches about starke county all day! get a life whore!

Further forensic investigation revealed that these comments were sent from Bloomington, Indiana from Indiana University’s IP Address. (Well we are growing some brilliant scholars here in Indiana, eh?) I am unable to determine exactly what the native language of the writer actually is although it clearly isn’t English. The phrase “and let speak what you believe” seems most likely to be a pidgin from the Indonesian Archipelago or perhaps Java. However, “she prolly just cant get laid so she bitches about starke county all day” oddly seems to derive from a popular 1950’s ersatz Jamaican pop hit. (The expected “dayo, dayaayo, day da li and i wanna go ‘ome” has been left off to throw me off the scent, I think.) In any case I think it is most probable that the writer is a member of the tribe Homo floresiensis from the remote Indonesian island of Flores that I discussed very briefly in an earlier blog Under the Arches. Hugh and Lee concur. Perhaps it is the very person I have pictured there!

I wish I could determine the complaint of this person(?) (Is being a member of Homo if not actually member of the more specific sapiens sufficient to call someone a person?) Since this comment was on a piece about evolution v creationism I would assume that this person is a Creationist as I did happen to take the Evolutionary side of the question. I guess that pretty much explains it.

Oxymoron: Amish Cook

Monday, April 30 South Bend Tribune.
From “The Amish Cook”, by Lovina Eicher

...Jacob’s family had a good supper of barbequed chicken, steamed potatoes, cheese, dandelion salad, and hard-boiled eggs…(gourmands of the prairies!) …After lunch they ended up taking one of their sons, Jacob Jr.,7, to the emergency room…(coincidence or simply ironic?)…He ended up being admitted… (sounds like everybody’s end is up)
…He just started getting sick on Saturday, so it overtook him very quickly…(elegant prose, eh?)…It seems we have to get a new mower… (oh! the humanity!)…If it’s not one thing it’s another, but that’s life…(more accurately that is 2 clichés separated by a comma)… If things would always go easy, we’d soon forget about our Heavenly Father’s great power…(God never could maintain the equipment)… I like doing the garden when I can go barefoot… (hookworm might explain the odd theology and sub 5th grade writing style) … Anyone have a recipe for coconut macaroon pie or carrot pie?…(983 hits on Google for the coconut macaroon pie. 9,710 hits for carrot pie. Who knew?)

Following is an added response to Amish Cook fans:

The agent of the Amish Cook perhaps took this blog a little too seriously! This was posted at the Oasis Newsfeatures website this weekend:
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Hmmm, Should I Be Offended or Amused?Published on May 20, 2007 by Kevin Williams in Blog
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“Okay, it's a slow blog day and while just randomly surfing through cyberspace, I stumbled upon this bizarre blog entry from a writer in the tiny town of Knox, Indiana. Apparently the writer had nothing better to do than dissect the Amish Cook's writing style, or, in her opinion, lack thereof. I always tell editors before they subscribe to the column, that Lovina's writing is never going to win a Pulitzer Prize for literary excellence, but that isn't the point of the column. The column's main mission is to connect people in today's fast-paced whirling world to a time when life was a little simpler and less materialistic. Some of the writer's points were humorous: she was correct in pointing out the double cliche. That wasn't one of Lovina's strongest journalistic moments. I wasn't quite as amused when she started making veiled references to the lack of education. With all candor, I've met many Amish who are as well-read or are as successful of a entrepreneur with their eighth grade education as I have people with college degrees. So, anyone else have any thoughts? Should I be amused at the entry? Or offended?”
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Knox Indiana only wishes to say that there is such a thing as quality. To some folks quality doesn't matter nearly so much as the intent. For example they might say, "It's the thought that counts." when they have to defend bad quality. I don't think that is a valid defense for poor quality in a public, professional, journalistic setting. I didn't know what degree of education the Amish tended to have, so Kevin's "veiled reference" is imaginary. It was, in fact, an unveiled reference to the actual level of quality of the writing of "The Amish Cook". Although I haven't actually witnessed a well-read Amish person, I really have no doubt that it might be possible that there be such a person. Certainly Lovina does NOT rise to that description. It would be quite nice "to connect people in today's fast-paced whirling world to a time when life was a little simpler and less materialistic." But I think that statement pretty much says, "It's the thought that counts".

BTW: Somebody needs to tell Lovina how to use the word "good". For example: The garden isn't growing good, it is growing well. That she should have gotten in 5th grade, or at least from Kevin.