Sunday, September 23, 2007

Salinger kept his promise

"Or I might just take up an offer from Pierre Salinger to draft press releases for Senator John Kennedy, who‘d be running for President next year."

-From the last paragraph of "A Bath in the Gas House," which I'm about ready to send off to a magazine.

I've been working on a mystery story set in Beat Generation Venice, California. If I'm lucky enough to get it published, it would be fun (and a lot of work) to have my reporter-protagonist go to work for JFK in a sequel. I did a little research on Salinger, just to make sure he was working for Kennedy in October, 1959 (he was), and also learned he was one of the few people who kept a promise to leave the country if George W. Bush became president.

Right-wingers have had a field day with actor Alec Baldwin, who made the same threat, but has yet to carry it through.

But Salinger, who said, "If Bush wins, I'm going to leave the country and spend the rest of my life in France," did exactly that. He died in France October 16, 2004.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Steve,
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Interesting about Salinger's promise. Yet another factoid I was unaware of:)

Travis Erwin said...

Interesting, and I can always appreciate a person who keeps their word.

Lisa said...

The premise of your story fascinates me. I hope to have a chance to read it. Your comments and posts are always so well thought out and interesting that I'm hoping to have a chance to read some of your fiction too.

By the way, I agree with your comment at Razored Zen about The Metamorphosis.

steve on the slow train said...

Rebecca--Thank you for visiting here. I'm looking foward to following your writing journey.

Travis--Thank you for visiting. I like the photo of the Amarillo Tri-State (NM and OK, along with TX, I assume) Exhibition sign. As for your elevator mishap--it can happen to anyone.

Lisa--I'm glad you like the premise of my story. Gershom (as in Ex. 2:22: "And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.")Davies, in self-imposed exile in Venice, has lost his anonymity and needs to move on.

I'm glad you agree with me on Kafka. But I'm glad to have discovered Charles's blog (through yours). He's got a fascinating discussion going on.

Anonymous said...

Any book you write would be a delight to read. I wish you every success.

Charles Gramlich said...

I actually didn't know Salinger had left the US. I'd heard about him dying. Robert Jordan died here recently too, of the Wheel of Time fame.

Thanks for dropping by my blog. Some good stuff here.

steve on the slow train said...

Peter--Thany you for the encouragement. This one's just a short story, though it probably could be expanded.

Charles--Thank you for visiting here. I haven't read Robert Jordan, though it looks as though he's worth reading. Your recent articles about the exotic have made me and quite a few others really think about the subject. I'll be looking forward to future posts.

Sustenance Scout said...

Speaking of reading amazing stories...I just tagged you on my blog for a meme re: favorite reads, Steve. You've got an open deadline on this one; approach at your leisure! K.

p.s. would that we all could pack up and move to France in protest.