How is it possible that a Man almost 50 Years of Age, who has not lost any of his life since he was five years old without incessant labour & study, how is it possible that such a one with ordinary common sense can be inferior to a boy of twenty, who scarcely has taken or deigns to take a pencil in hand, but who rides about the Parks or Saunters about the Playhouses, who Eats & drinks for business not for need, how is it possible that such a fop can be superior to the studious lover of Art can scarcely be imagind. Yet such is somewhat like my fate & such it is likely to remain. Yet I laugh & sing, for if on Earth neglected I am in heaven a Prince among Princes, & even on Earth beloved by the Good as a Good Man; this I should be contented with, but a[t] certain periods a blaze of reputation arises round me in which I am considerd as one distinguishd by some mental perfection, but the flame soon dies again & I am left stupefied and astonish'd. O that I could live as others do in a regular succession of Employment.
from Flannery O'Connor's letter to Ted R. Spivey, May 1959, which is probably about the time that my father decided to balance an ashtray on my mother's head during a college assembly, in hopes that she would turn around and notice him.
Week before last I went to Wesleyan and read "A Good Man is Hard to Find." After it I went to one of the classes where I was asked questions. There were a couple of young teachers there, and one of them, an earnest type, started asking the questions. "Miss O'Connor," he said, "why is The Misfit's hat black?" I said most countrymen in Georgia wore black hats. Then he said, "Miss O'Connor, The Misfit represents Christ, does he not?" "He does not," I said. He looked crushed. "Well, Miss O'Connor," he said, "what is the significance of The Misfit's hat?" I said it was to cover his head, and after that he left me alone.
Entry in Sonny Bono's diary, November 11, 1972, when I was 8 years old and in third grade, which was also the year my English teacher informed my parents that I had "not one spark of imagination."
I guess I should write something just for the hell of it so I'll have something to read later on.
3 comments:
These are great passages. as for the 3rd grade teacher, who says things like this?
Love the O'Connor quote, which reminds me of the truth in that (tired) saying that sometimes a duck is just a duck.
I have a friend who at age 5 was called "evil" by a Catholic nun. I like to imagine that she's still having a bit of difficulty at the Pearly Gates.
This particular teacher made the comment during a routine parent-teacher meeting. It still amazes me that a teacher would say such a thing to a child's parents, though it also amuses me, considering that I grew up to be a professional imaginer.
"Evil," eh? I'm with you, Maureen, about the Pearly Gates.
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