Jimmy Pappas's Blog, page 7

Jimmy Buys a Book from the Used Book Store

Jimmy Buys a Book from the Used Book Store
by Jimmy Pappas

Jimmy: Just bought a new book at the used book store.

Mrs. Jimmy: Wow, that's great, Honey.

Jimmy: I thought it was a pretty good choice on my part.

Mrs. Jimmy: I know how much you like a good deal, Sweetie.

Jimmy: Yeah, I checked it out pretty carefully.

Mrs. Jimmy: As you always do, Lover.

Jimmy: Here take a look.

Mrs. Jimmy: So this is the book?

Jimmy: Yep, that's it.

Mrs. Jimmy: This book here?

Jimmy: Yep, that book there.

Mrs. Jimmy: The one I'm holding in my hand?

Jimmy: Yes, that book you are holding in your hand.

Mrs. Jimmy: And what made you choose this book?

Jimmy: Well, for one thing it's published by Johns Hopkins University.

Mrs. Jimmy: Johns Hopkins University?

Jimmy: That's right.

Mrs. Jimmy: Johns Hopkins University?

Jimmy: What is there an echo in here?

Mrs. Jimmy: Johns Hopkins.

Jimmy: Yes, Johns Hopkins.

Mrs. Jimmy: The one in Baltimore.

Jimmy: That's right.

Mrs. Jimmy: Where they do all that medical research.

Jimmy: That's right.

Mrs. Jimmy: The one that always ranks highly as a medical school.

Jimmy: Yes, that one.

Mrs. Jimmy: And where does it name the publisher?

Jimmy: At the top of the front cover.

Mrs. Jimmy: At the top.

Jimmy: Yes, at the top.

Mrs. Jimmy: Of this cover.

Jimmy: Oh, for crying out loud, what's your problem.

Mrs. Jimmy: THE Johns Hopkins University.

Jimmy: Just give it to me.

Mrs. Jimmy: Here you go, Honey Pie.

Jimmy: It's right here at the top!

Mrs. Jimmy: Read away, Dear.

Jimmy: It's right here. ON THE JOHN UNIVERSITY!!!

Mrs. Jimmy: *smiley face*

Jimmy: ???????????????????????????????????????

Mrs. Jimmy: *larger smiley face*

Jimmy: ???????????????!!!!!!!????????!!!!????????

Mrs. Jimmy: *even larger smiley face*

Jimmy: ??????!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????!!!!!!!!!!!!?????

Mrs. Jimmy: *crying smiley face*

Jimmy: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mrs. Jimmy: *crying face with tongue sticking out*

Jimmy: oh

Mrs. Jimmy: *smiley face with hearts for eyes*




Here is the link to the book. The title is still wrong on Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...

Abortion, Part 1: Toothpick Girl

Abortion, Part 1: Toothpick Girl

I was stationed at Edwards Air Force Base in California in the early 1970s after I returned to the States from South Vietnam. Abortions were legal in only California and New York at that time. Along with a group of friends, we accompanied a woman who was scheduled to receive an abortion. She is not my story. That part will remain private.

My story here is about a little girl I saw at the clinic. She must have been twelve years old and skinny as a toothpick. Incredibly, that girl was also there for an abortion. I have no idea why she was pregnant since she was a complete stranger to me. But there she was. I realized then there must be many thousands of girls like her across the United States and the entire world who are pregnant. In many places, including the US, they would be forced to marry.

I remember the girl fainting. She was helped out by staff members. My memory is vague, but make no question about it, she was the one getting an abortion.

What sort of man or woman tells a little girl like that she must carry her unwanted pregnancy to full term? Yet that is what is lawmakers are trying to do once again here in the US. Pregnant young women who are still children are left with choices that are totally unacceptable: marry and have the baby or don't get married and still have the baby. Then what? Give it up for adoption?

There is no way I intend to go back to those days. This is a time to make sure we are vigilant.

Falling off the Empire State Building, Part 2

Falling off the Empire State Building, Part 2

I had a full manuscript of poems in a collection I titled Falling off the Empire Building. To enter a contest at the journal Rattle for a chapbook, I had to whittle it down to only 25 or so pages. That was less than half of the poems. But I wanted to enter the contest, and I really believed in the collection.

I love the title. I wonder what most people will think of it. My guess is they will connect it to King Kong's death in the movie where he leaves Fay Wray down on the top of the Empire State Building before he falls to his death. That was such a great scene. The Beast dies for his love of the Beauty. Maybe readers will bring something from King Kong to their reading. I don't know.

Here is the story where I actually got the title from. When the Empire State Building was being built, workers sometimes fell to their deaths. A line of new workers waited to take the place of the fallen construction workers. So every time someone died a new man would take his place. Sounds horrible. Here's the thing: It is not true, but I believed it for a while. I even told some students in an English class it was true. Then I checked it out and found out it was an urban legend.

In the following years, I kept telling the story and explaining to the class some thoughts about critical thinking skills. They learned three things: 1. Always check your facts. 2. Even Mr. Pappas can make mistakes, but not many. 3. Facts are real. That lesson is needed now more than ever with our current President of the United States.

The story became a metaphor for me about my father working in a factory. It was a job he did not want to have. He was an artist. He went to Boston Art School. He was creative and mathematical. But he lived in an immigrant family. He needed to support his brothers. He needed to support his own children. So he kept working there. It was like he was a man falling off the Empire State Building.

Here is the link with the winners of the contest. On March 1, 2020, Rattle editors will send out 7,000 copies of my chapbook free to all of its subscribers. Seven thousand! Amazing.

https://www.rattle.com/chapbooks/c201...

Falling off the Empire State Building, Part 1

Falling off the Empire State Building, Part 1

My chapbook of poems called Falling off the Empire State Building was one of three winners of the Rattle Chapbook Contest for 2019. We were selected out of 1,404 chapbook entries. That is a huge number of entries to be selected from. The three chapbook winners will be mailed free to all 7,000 Rattle subscribers. Mine will be the last one mailed in March 2020. We also receive a $2,000 prize. It is such a humbling experience.

It is hard to imagine so many strangers reading my poems. Paperback books with my name on it will be passed around across the United States and parts of the world. It is very hard to fathom. I cannot help but wonder what will be said on social media. I think it will be positive because the poems are accessible for the most part and relate to experiences many will recognize.

Here is a link to the post of the three winners:

https://www.rattle.com/chapbooks/c201...

I definitely have to stay alive until next March. What a thrill it will be to go to the mailbox and get a copy. I also wonder what the cover will look like. I am sure I will be happy with whatever the artist comes up with. I will also receive 500 copies to sell at readings. I hope to continue to do many readings in the next few years.

Joseph Brodsky

by Joseph Brodsky

In Collected Poems in English are all the poems Joseph Brodsky published in English at that time. Here are some examples:

"I sit in the dark. And it would be hard to figure out
which is worse: the darkness inside, or the darkness out."


"The Funeral of Bobo" by Joseph Brodsky

1
Bobó is dead, but don't take off your hat.
You can't explain why there's no consolation.
We cannot pin a butterfly upon
the Admiralty spire -- we'd only crush it.
The squares of windows no matter where
one looks on every side. And as reply
to `what happened?' you open up
an empty can: `Apparently, this did.'
Bobó is dead. Wednesday ends.
On streets devoid of spots to spend the night
it's white, so white. Only the black water
in the night river does not retain the snow.

2
Bobó is dead -- a line containing grief.
The squares of windows, archways' semicircle.
Such freezing frost that if one's to be killed,
then let it be from firearms.
Farewell, Bobó, my beautiful Bobó.
My tear would suit sliced cheese.
We are too frail to follow after you,
nor are we strong enough to stay in place.
In heat-waves and in devastating cold
I know beforehand, your image will
not diminish -- but quite to the contrary --
in Rossi's inimitable prospect.

3
Bobó is dead. This is a feeling which can
be shared, but slippery like soap.
Today I dreamed that I was lying
upon my bed. And so it was in fact.
Tear off a page, correct the date:
the list of losses opens with a zero.
Dreams without Bobó suggest reality.
A square of air comes in the window vent.
Bobó is dead. And, one's lips somewhat
apart, one wants to say `it shouldn't be'.
No doubt it's emptiness that follows death.
Both far more probable, and worse than Hell.

4
You were everything. But because you are
dead now, my Bobó, you have become
nothing -- more precisely, a glob of emptiness.
Which, if one considers it, is quite a lot.
Bobó is dead. On rounded eyes
the sight of the horizon is like a knife,
but neither Kiki nor Zaza, Bobó,
will take your place. That is impossible.
Thursday is coming. I believe in emptiness.
It's quite like Hell there, only shittier.
And the new Dante bends toward the page,
and on an empty spot he sets a word.


Link to "Odysseus to Telemachus" by Brodsky:

https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/o...

Here is the poet himself reading "A Song":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_YgV...

You have to listen to this one! Derek Walcott reading "Love Song" by Brodsky:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwQ3B...

Here is a link to "Song of Welcome" by Joseph Brodsky:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem...

John Updike

John Updike

I attended a John Updike reading many years ago not long before he died. I think he is one of the great writers of my generation. How he did not win the Nobel Prize for Literature is beyond me. Maybe his writing was not political enough.

Later there was a book signing. I always try to take advantage of those opportunities to see if I can get a few words in with the author hoping to generate a brief conversation. Sometimes it works, sometimes I am met with bored stares, and sometimes it turns out like this one with Mr. Updike.

A movie camera behind the author filmed everyone meeting the author. Perhaps the videos were used in some documentary or other. I always wonder if my few moments were ever saved.

I started by handing him a book to be signed and saying, "Hello, Mr. Updike. I am a big fan of your writing. I just read a passage to my English class from Rabbit Run about a description of a highway with a billboard on the side of the road as an example of great writing."

His response surprised me. He shouted at me: "THAT'S COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL YOU KNOW!"

I couldn't speak at first, but I knew I had to think fast to get in my opinion of the whole matter. Somehow I succeeded to say just the right thing: "I put you on the map with these kids. They don't discuss the latest John Updike book at the local trailer park you know."

He pretty much ignored me by looking at the next person in line. I appeared to be just a minor irritation to him. He might as well have said, "Be gone with you!"

I wish I could have stayed and added more. Here is what I wanted to say: "There is no way I could purchase a book with so much explicit sex for a high school class. I told the kids that. If I was one of my students, I would have made it my goal to find the book, buy it, and read it."

All I could do was move on. He wanted nothing further to do with me. I did not think much of him as a person, but I still loved his writing. I have always questioned some of the terrible choices the Nobel Prize committee has made in literature. John Updike deserved one because he is an incredible writer.

Jimmy Teaches Kant to His Students

Jimmy Teaches Kant to His Students
by Jimmy Pappas

Mother: So what did you learn about in school today?
Student: Kant.
Mother: (Rubs finger in her ear.)
Student: Mr. Pappas taught us about Kant today.
Mother: (Rubs finger in her ear even harder.)
Student: The man loves Kant.
Mother: I'm sorry?
Student: Yeah, the man has Kant on the brain.
Mother: He what?
Student: That seems to be all he thinks about, Kant, Kant, Kant.
Mother: Your teacher?
Student: Today we had a pretty detailed look at Kant.
Mother: You what?
Student: I'm starting to appreciate the importance of Kant.
Mother: Appreciate?
Student: Can I borrow the car?
Mother: Borrow the car?
Student: Yeah, I want to go to the library and see if I can pick up some Kant.
Mother: What?
Student: I heard they have a lot of Kant there.
Mother: Whaaa?
Student: Nothing like a little Kant to spice up an evening.
Mother: No you can't have the car!
Student: Fine. I have enough Kant on the brain to keep me occupied.
Mother: That does it. Tomorrow we are signing you up for a Christian school.
Student: Fine with me. Do they have any Kant there?
Mother: AAAARRRGGGHHH!!! HOME SCHOOLING!!!

How a Stranger Saved My Life

How a Stranger Saved My Life

When I was a young boy one Sunday after church, I went out with two of my friends down to the frozen river at the bottom of the hill where I lived. One of the boys saw a hole in the ice. He said, "Let's see who can be the first one to go out on the ice and touch that hole." We all took the dare.

The ice was thin. We could see the water flowing underneath. It was moving to our right where a stone dam and a frozen waterfall were. This was definitely not a place to go exploring.

As we started walking on the ice, it began creaking like we were going to break it and fall through. Somehow, we had enough sense to lie down flat and spread our weight around.

The boy who spotted the hole was the leader. He was the craziest of us. I was in second place. I always thought that made me half-crazy. And the other friend was in third or last place. We would call him a coward for that. He was very scared, yet he still went on the ice.

As we were crawling out on the frozen river, a car stopped on the street and a man jumped out and yelled at us. "Hey you kids! Get off the ice! I'm going to call the cops on you!" We immediately began crawling back to safety.

I have no idea who that man was, but I am certain he saved all of our lives. If we kept going, the ice almost certainly would have broken, and we would have all gone through. I doubt anyone could have rescued us because the river would have pushed us along under the ice.

Here is what I learned from that day: 1. I owe my life to a stranger, so I must pass it on by helping others. 2. The brains of kids are really whacked. 3. Being only half-crazy has made my life pretty interesting.

Life Above and Below the Snow

Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner and illustrated by Silas Neal is a children's book that adults can enjoy about animal life above and below snow. A father takes his daughter out cross country skiing and the two of them spot things in nature or discuss the life underneath them.

A Positive: there is no mention of snowmobiles which are destructive of nature.

Another Positive: Snowshoeing is mentioned as well. That would be my preferred method to cause minimal damage.

A Third Positive: The fact that animals get eaten is noted. That should not be avoided with young children. Death is a reality. Nature is a good place to learn about it.

An Implied Positive: Snow is necessary for the survival of many creatures in nature. It protects them from the bitter cold. Climate change is affecting that. My salamanders are in great danger where I live because of the lack of snow cover to protect them from freezing.

Some interesting facts:

1. The "secret kingdom under the snow" is called by scientists the subnivean zone. It contains "a network of small open spaces and tunnels between the snowpack and the ground." It "leaves a layer of air just above the dirt and fallen leaves."

2. The booknotes explain the difference between voles, mice, and shrews.

3. A male bullfrog has a tympanum or "ear" that is twice the size of its eye. A female bullfrog has a tympanum that is the same size as its eye. Take children out and see if they can spot the difference.

4. Male and worker bees die in the autumn. Queen bumblebees hibernate in the soil or under a layer of leaves. They can "even produce their own antifreeze if temperatures drop too low." In the spring the queen will lay her eggs and start a new colony.

The Pappas Family Name

The Pappas Family Name

My last name Pappas means "father" or "priest" as in papa. Greek priests in the Greek Orthodox church were allowed to marry, a pretty sensible decision in my humble opinion. I wish all churches did that. The suffix -opoulos means "son of," so my original name was Papadopoulos or "son of a priest." Apparently, Greek priests had many children because Pappas is the most common Greek name. The suffix was dropped when my grandparents on my father's side came to America.

Their names were James and Olympia. Together they had eleven children, all of them boys. I once asked about the number eleven and an uncle said, "Well, actually, there may have been between eleven and fifteen kids." It is possible my grandmother had some miscarriages. Of the eleven, two died as children. The other nine lived full lives. They were my father and eight uncles. Before the new year, my last uncle died. He was almost ninety-five years old. In his last phone call to me, his final wish was to live just a short time more, so he could reach that age. He missed it by a few days.