2. The Provenance of Baby Boy Fletcher

THE ALL NEW MOSTLY TRUE ADVENTURES OF BABY BOY FLETCHER

Of course, Baby Boy Fletcher did not spring fully formed and appear one day in the NICU at the University of Maryland Medical Center! Nor was he brought to earth by a stork; not found under a berry bush; never left in a box at someone’s front door; not even discovered in a basket floating in the reeds of an ancient river.

Baby Boy Fletcher is actually the progeny of two extraordinary individuals. His mother, Kate Welsh, nee Fletcher, is famous for her legendary acts of bravery and courage, although not as Kate Welsh. It is little known that she is actually Wonder Woman! Yes indeed – Wonder Woman; that timeless and eternal Amazon most often described as "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, swifter than Hermes, and stronger than Hercules." All this, and special powers! Most of us are aware of her heroic exploits down through the centuries. But Wonder Woman is a woman of action and not words so many of her most daring and important ventures are not generally known. She was advisor to the French Resistance during WW2, leading them on to many successful missions against the Nazis. She was there when Genghis Khan tried to take over the world, stopping his maleficence in its tracks. She took down Al Capone while letting Elliot Ness take all the credit. While the photo we use of her here is from her younger days (to protect her privacy) it clearly shows that famous, characteristic Wonder Woman image of confronting the world.


Baby Boy Fletcher’s father, Ed Welsh, disguised as a youthful accountant in this photo to protect his privacy, is in real life the immortal eEejai – The Dragon King! We are all familiar with The Dragon King’s fight for truth and justice; his successful battle to save the dragons from becoming extinct by being insidiously and illegally exploited in gaming dragon fights; his more recent work with reducing the carbon footprint that is desecrating our planet; and of course, his peculiar ability to extinguish fires by exhaling tons of water from his massive lungs! He has saved millions of lives, forests, prairies, homes, and landmarks since the time of the Last Days of Pompeii!. And then there are his super powers which are the stuff of legend. eEejai has the ability to become invisible at will; his wizardry at seeing into the minds of the “bad guys” enables him to stop their evil machinations before they get started; his shape shifting talents which let him blend into any crowd, confront any foe in whatever guise he deems fit; and his virtuoso mastery of the bagpipes.

Baby Boy Fletcher’s parentage is impressive indeed. The coming together of these two legendary heroes bodes exciting adventure for the Baby Boy. It is almost beyond imagining what his future holds. But of course, we can always imagine. (11/28/07)

KINDLE Also Means to Start a Fire

Amazon has launched what they hope will be the electronic replacement for the book in the form as we now know it. It is called KINDLE which is to call to mind the crackling of the fires of innovation; or could it be the crackling of the paper of burning books. As Amazon founder Jeff Bezos related to Newsweek reporter Steven Levy, "Books are the last bastion of analog."

I am not quite sure why books are seen, metaphorically, as analog's final defensive posture. I have never thought about books as continuous, time-steady signals, generally of the electronic variety. So maybe I need to tilt his comment a bit sideways. Does Bezos mean that the last bastion that analog must conquer is that of the book? By creating a revolutionary new way of experiencing books - digital in nature - will we thus conquer the paper versions of reading technology that have worked so well for more than 550 years? Conquer, bastions, revolutions - it is getting a bit militaristic all of a sudden. Books as a battlefield in the Art of War?

I am certainly NOT a Luddite, but maybe a curmudgeon, certainly a librarian, a volitional reader, and most definitely a bibliophile, bookworm, and collector of books. I love the feel of a book in my hands. The weight and heft of it. The paper. The font type and size. Margins. Inlays. Book covers. Frontispieces. Gilded fore-edges. The information on the book jacket flaps. All of the components, tangible and "un" that make each book unique.

Can Kindle give me this experience? Doubtful. Bezos' Weltanschauung of a book appears to be quite different from mine. And most likely from that of others as well. His attributes of a book - which must be an integral part of the Kindle - include projecting an "aura of bookishness" which by itself has all or no meaning. So to create this "aura", Kindle is the size of a paperback and extremely light. It also emulates a book with its tapering width. From a side view, Kindle has the same width as an ordinary pencil, not a "bookishness" characteristic where I am concerned. I personally enjoy a hefty book and the size and width of hardcovers are often a part of their appeal to me.

It uses a long life battery so that reading a book does not resemble the long past nascent experience of going to the movies and being confronted with "cliffhangers."
And if you go to the Amazon page and read all the features of Kindle, well, it is pretty impressive and certainly goes far beyond the scope of a book as we know it today. Its wireless connectivity enables it to function as an Internet device opening highways, roads, and bridges of literary opportunities. I cannot fault it for a lack of innovation.

But I am more concerned with how such devices will alter the creation of a story, a textbook, biography, poetry, newspapers. How will authors and readers alike be influenced by Bezos' vision of a new way of reading, writing, and publishing. In a world of infinite connectivity we can write along with an author - but do I want to? Authors can adjust text based on real time reviews of work-in-progress. Writing by poll. Hmmmm....

As much as the Internet has created a platform for all to pontificate, muse, yes, blog, debate, and so on, are we all Richard Russo quality writers? Writing along with David Sedaris as he works on his latest book of wit and satire leads to the creation of something other than that unique quality of "Sedaris-ness." Much will be lost. Being able to add an epilogue to Bob Woodward's latest book on the administration leads to never-ending books which may stray far and wide from the original topic and point of view. I cannot imagine the hubris of believing I can add anything of creative merit to Alice Munro's stories and would be bereft if indeed, her future works were edited or supplemented by we-the-reader.

So, I'll hold on to my home library for now as I investigate the potentials and uses of devices such as Kindle. Books will not go away anytime in the near future, nor will libraries or bookstores. And more will be revealed!

Joe Lewis & Me Go To The Gym

If I must resort to getting a trainer and working out - and I must - than I plan to do it in good company. Joe Lewis, Heavyweight boxing champion of the world! He held this title from June 22, 1937 until June 25, 1948 and made a division-record 25 successful title defenses. Someone I would be proud to emulate!

I am still on steroids and still struggle to breathe. And the weight gain from the steroids has just created more problems with my ability to be active. I get so exhausted just doing daily activities and my endurance is pretty non-existent. So what next? Sit in my chair and get fatter and fatter?

Nope! I have joined a gym - what has been relabeled in today's parlance as a fitness center - and acquired a trainer. If I want to get into any semblance of good shape, I need to train! So train I will. Two days a week with a trainer and then all the cardio, weights, balance, flexibility I want to take on.

My first appointment with Molly - such as sweet sweet name for this woman of steel. Former Air Force; and to my way of thinking there is never anything "former" about military! So Molly and I walk to a treadmill. Treadmill:

An exercise device consisting of an endless belt on which a person can walk or jog without changing place;
A mill that is powered by men or animals walking on a circular belt or climbing steps
A job involving drudgery and confinement.

Here's a definition I can relate to:

Instrument of discipline in prisons. A cylinder made to revolve by the action of prisoners putting their weight on boards fixed as steps on the surface of the cylinder. It was intended to be an irksome and monotonous punishment.

Some good words here: endless, drudgery, punishment, monotonous...
So back to me and Molly at the treadmill. I have not exercised in years - I have sarcoidosis - I am 59 years old - I am grossly overweight. So Molly says to me, "Let's do 55 minutes on the treadmill today."

I looked at her as if she were recently released from a long-term treatment center for the severely mentally impaired. FIFTY-FIVE minutes! ME! On a treadmill! I wanted to cry, but that would not have been very sporting of me. I WAS however mentally contemplating how to get out of my contract with the fitness center. There must be some other way to get my lungs back in shape!

So she starts up the treadmill and my feet begin to move. By minute ten my legs were burning and I was ready to leave, that is, if I could have had the stamina to walk out of the gym and to my car.

Twenty minutes - not even halfway through. I knew something that Molly did not - there was NO WAY I could do 55 minutes on a treadmill. Inclines, speed up, slow down, more inclines, and 40 minutes had passed. I was still upright. I could hear Joe Lewis urging me on, and on. Suddenly, time was up! I had gone 55 minutes on a treadmill.

I casually walked down to my car, got inside and shouted with joy! ME - 55 minutes! I was exuberant, ebullient, ecstatic, euphoric, rapturous! Me and Joe go to the gym again on Sunday.

1. ROCKET MAN

THE ALL NEW MOSTLY TRUE ADVENTURES
OF BABY BOY FLETCHER


As is well know by now, Baby Boy Fletcher (BBF) made his arrival six weeks early, eager to begin his adventures here on earth. On the fifth of September he came to Baltimore to take up residence and begin his all new adventures. While he weighed a good weight – 5 pounds and some odd ounces – he was not quite ready for the blue skies and open roads of life. So he spent some time awaiting his “all systems go” before he could venture out into the world.

He was hooked up to snaky opaque tubing, and bound with wires of rainbow colors and undetermined purposes. Bright lights were aimed at various parts of his fragileness and new and unexplained sounds abounded; susurrations, clangs, dings, beeps, swooshes, jabber, all filtered through lights and tubes and hard plastic shell of his new home.
This was not how most babies were greeted by the world. One could say it was unworldly in its lack of congruence, certainty, or general sense of celebration one would have expected. BBF began to take on the “otherness” of where he was placed becoming more like a being from a place far away in time and space than a newly born baby boy. In fact, his resemblance to a Bradburian rocket man, was noted by many who came to stare at him and marvel.

Thus began his first week on planet Earth.

When Cecelia Calls

Cecelia has reached an age where she calls me on the phone now. I pick up the phone and there is this delightfully clear, confident, and perky “Hello.” Immediately recognizable as Cecelia. And then we have a conversation; a true exchange of “sentiments, observations, opinions, ideas” and the events in our daily lives. We discuss books – she is always reading one or another of the “Little House” books. Or we discuss her social life – who is having a party, what movie she is going to go see, raking leaves with her father, updates on her best friends – she is quite a busy little character.

And at some point, we always talk about when we will next see each other, bemoaning once again the fact that it is always far too long a time between our visits. Grandchildren should live right next door, it is a simple as that! She is a part of my heart and soul and I think of her every day. So she might as well move in next door since she is such a constant in my life. Would that life could be all the perfections we wish and hope for!

I love it when she calls me. And I am daunted by the fact that she can accomplish this feat. And constantly amazed that she is of an age where she can perform such tasks. And a bit nostalgic for the little girl who was.

Yet when I hear her “Hello” on my phone, my day instantly is sunny and cheerful.

When Cecelia calls me, there is no place on earth I would rather be than on the phone talking with her.