Thursday, May 29, 2014
THE MAP THIEF — by Steve Nadis
Years ago, in the heyday of this blog, I wrote a series of posts about E. Forbes Smiley III, who was then accused of stealing rare (and extremely valuable) maps from several libraries. I started the series because I liked the name of the accused, only later discovering that we went to the same college at around the same time and knew some people in common. A New Yorker writer, who was writing a feature article about Smiley, got in touch with me in an attempt to contact his friends, some of whom had commented on my blog. I also heard from a journalist from the Hartford newspaper that broke the story in the first place. In addition, several of Smiley’s pals attacked me, having some harsh things to say about my character and also claiming that he was a far better person than I’d ever be.
History suggests a slightly different interpretation. Smiley was convicted of stealing 97 rare maps and admitted to an author that he stole 11 more. All told these maps were worth more than $3 million dollars. The libraries that he stole from claim that 150 more maps are missing, so that the ultimate toll of his thievery is probably much greater.
I have my faults but am not much of a thief. I once stole a postcard only because I couldn’t find a person in the outdoor market to pay. And I pinched a 45 rpm record when I was in junior high school, succumbing to pressure from friends who liked to shoplift. I didn’t like the record and felt bad about how it had come into my possession. In fact, I never hung out with those so-called friends again. And unlike my college contemporary, I concluded, early on, that a life of crime was not for me.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
The continuing saga of the wayward cat — by Steve Nadis
A couple of years ago, I wrote about a neighbor’s cat who frequently strayed from our neck of the woods–the Riverside district of Cambridge–to the Agassiz area, which is about a mile away. Since my column was published, I’ve been frequently contacted by people who’ve spotted the errant cat ("Jasper da Gama") in the Agassiz neighborhood. Today, at Trader Joe’s, a guy I hadn’t seen for years who lives in that part of town told me that when he read my column some years back, he looked in his backyard and saw the wayward feline in question. Jasper is a real cat about town–too much so for his poor owners, who are constantly going all over the place, trying to track him down. But he’s doing his part to keep my writing relevant.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
WARNING: TRIGGER ALERT! -- by Steve Nadis
I was listening to a show last week on WBUR (one of Boston's NPR affiliates) when I heard about a movement at numerous colleges and universities--and perhaps elsewhere--to put warning labels on works of fiction, informing prospective readers that the contents of said tract may be upsetting to them, depending on their sensitivities and life experiences. I found it sickening to hear articulate (and seemingly thoughtful) college students and others making the case for this ridiculous idea. Any decent work of fiction ought to disturb or shock people in some way, or it's probably not worth reading. Don't spoil it by putting a warning label on the cover--as if the book were nothing more than a carton of cigarettes or a box of digestive aids or allergy medication
The only kind of advanced notice that makes sense, is my opinion, is something like the following:
WARNING! THIS BOOK CONTAINS A TRIGGER ALERT, which is likely to induce nausea, a diminution of mental faculties, and other unpleasant side effects.
The only kind of advanced notice that makes sense, is my opinion, is something like the following:
WARNING! THIS BOOK CONTAINS A TRIGGER ALERT, which is likely to induce nausea, a diminution of mental faculties, and other unpleasant side effects.
LinkedOut -- by Steve Nadis
We all get those annoying emails supposedly sent by people you barely know asking you to join their LinkedIn network. I'm used to delete those without a second thought, but last week the name attached to such a missive was my father, who is nearly 90 years old and not up on this sort of thing at all. I called him to see what was up and at first said he didn't know a thing about LinkedIn. Then he remembered that his granddaughter (my niece), who is about 22, asked him to join her network. He did it to be nice to her, not knowing that all his email contacts would be approached in turn. I borrowed his password and, about 15 minutes later, successfully got him LinkedOut.
HANDBALL AND THE AGING -- by Steve Nadis
The demographics of handball is somewhat alarming, as the players continue to age--as we all are, of course--but fewer young players are coming up the ranks. Along with this creaky population of players comes frequently complaints regarding a variety of physical ailments. One player spoke so much about his back, knee, and hip problems that his partner finally lost patience with him. "Here's what you do," the partner said. "Take two weeks off. Then come back and quit for good."
THE SNAKE IS BACK! -- by Steve Nadis
My blog of the same name at blog.com has been iffy for many years and now seems to be totally defunct. So CALL ME SNAKE is back to its old/new home in what is hopefully a much more stable setting, blogger.com.
You may be able to access my previous posts at the blog.com site: http://cambridgeguy.blog.com/
You may be able to access my previous posts at the blog.com site: http://cambridgeguy.blog.com/
