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Sunday, February 3, 2019

The Writer's Life 2/3 - A Tiger & Stuff

Chris Erikson contributes a fascinating article on a new book in today's New York Post. Here are highlights, edited by yours truly: At the turn of the 20th century, a relentless killer went on a seven-year reign of terror. It was the legendary Man-Eater of Champawat, a Bengal tiger that stalked swaths of rural India and Nepal, killing an estimated 436 men, women and children. Jim Corbett, the son of an Irish postmaster who’d settled in the region, was a railroad worker who’d been born and raised in the hills nearby.  A master tracker and expert marksman, he was called upon to kill the beast. He “could imitate the grunts of a leopard or the chuffing of a tiger with an accuracy that sent a collective shiver through a dinner party.” With the help of 300 villagers, who formed a line to rake the ravine where the tiger lurked, “firing rifles, pounding drums and screaming as loud as their lungs would allow,” Corbett lay in wait at the mouth of a gorge. His first shot missed. A second and third found the mark, but the snarling, enraged cat was not done. Out of cartridges, Corbett sprinted across the valley, grabbed a shotgun from a villager, ran back and, from 20 feet, leveled a blast that brought the confrontation and carnage to an end. The feat made him a legend. It's all detailed in this:


I'm probably close to 100% disagreement with the views of the Virginia governor, a Democrat, under fire for having performed in black face decades ago. Of course, a part of me, recalling all the right wingers accused of racism, thinks: "Serves him right." That's wrong, and I disagree with the calls for his resignation. First of all, every youth is vulnerable to stupidity. I did plenty I wished I hadn't done. Second - where is forgiveness? This wasn't a violent act but an asinine one. Third, he would be replaced by someone with similar views - so what purpose would his ouster serve? Although it wouldn't surprise me if he, a far left liberal, survives, it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

I finished the annual drudgery of filing income taxes. Unless my income from book sales increases dramatically in 2019 (LOL), I won't be seeking deductions for my literary efforts on next year's return. It's not worth the time and effort to get them right. I owe the feds zero, and I'll get a little dough from the state and city.

And what did I dream of last night? - mold above my kitchen sink. At least I woke up feeling fine. That was the best thing that happened today. I had the sniffles all yesterday and felt funky throughout the night. I was sure I was getting a cold or the flu.

It was spring-like today. I left my coat and gloves in the car. My thanks to the gentleman who set today's session of the floating book in the right direction, buying Stephen King's story collection Nightmares and Dreamscapes and novel Rose Madder; and to the guy who selected Thomas Pynchon's Vineland; and to the woman who purchased Origins of the Kabbalah by Gershom Gerhard Scholem; and to the dude who chose The Fixers, a novel about the financial crisis by Michael M. Thomas. A sweet elderly couple asked about my books. The man has published ten of his own on Jewish mysticism. Kudos.
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