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Aug 29, 2004 My grandfather used to tell me many stories when I was young, once he went to see Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, and seen Buffalo Bill Cody in person, a legend in his own time. And he had met Hemingway in Habana at a Cuban night club. And Fay Ray, the woman who was the star in King Kong [I even had met her though, but when she was much older], but the one that comes to mind is William Faulkner. He used to tell me as much as Hawthorn was friends with such people like Longfellow, Emerson, Robert Browning, so Hemingway and Faulkner used to write back and forth, and added Hemingway and Fitzgerald were drinking buddies in Paris. Well all this was fine, but of course well known, yet he'd add, I guess Hemingway and Frost new each other also; Fitzgerald lived in an apartment not far from where my uncle owned a house at 659 Dayton St, St. Paul, Minnesota - and he'd put all that in one paragraph, take a breathe and go on from there as if all the world was listening, I didn't believe half of what he said, but there seemed always to be a bit of truth in everything he said, it was just trying to find it, that is to say, the truth from the bull. Grandpa when he would visit my uncle used to walk down that street, the street where Fitzgerald lived, although he had met him on one occasion, he said he liked Faulkner for some reason, possible for his drinking because grandpa didn't read all that much, but liked his vodka. Well, he and Faulkner ended up on the same train from the West Coast, going east, so he said, and I sat back in the sofa chair on Cayuga Street in St. Paul, and listened, in particular this one evening. He had said, "Faulkner was tired and anxious to get home and put the last touches on his book which was to be out soon, called "Intruder in the Dust." This was back in l947... you know, I don't have the exact date, but I got still remember the story son, oh yaw, I remember it like it was yesterday, should a get a piece wrong here or there, don't mind, its all fact." My grandfather was in the restaurant business and a painter as well... grandpa explained that late afternoon in August: "On the train I bumped into, you know [looking at me looking at him strangely] Mr. Faulkner, yes, oh yes in deed, I asked for his autograph, he had said, "...the more I give out free, the less valuable they are, and how does one eat...?"" Well, grandpa being a practical man I figured that might be true, something Faulkner said, and grandpa might remember and repeat, then he said, and said it with drama, "This is quite true, absolutely so, and I said to him, "so let me buy you dinner?" it was a question you know for we both stood staring at one another, and he smiled, and the dinner date was on. I went to the dinning car, and we both sat down and ordered wine, coffee, and each a steak dinner. As we had both ordered dinner, Mr. Faulkner brought up some interesting issues, and I said to him "you are kind of a snob..." but I liked him nonetheless, and I noticed he was in pain, I think it was Mr. Faulkner's back... and so I left well enough alone." In any case, here is grandpa, and Mr. Faulkner sitting down, and he - Mr. Faulkner starts talking about Random House, I guess one of his publishers; saying he owed back tax's and needed money to live on, that a friend named Hass, was trying to fix things up, that is, getting him $2400 dollars, I think $900 for the taxes alone. Says grandpa, "Well, I don't think I ever seen a man so concerned, as if he was about to hyperventilate. We talked then about his new, his new book to be, the: "Intruder...." As the train moved along he talked a bit and so did I. Then to my surprise, Mr. Faulkner started writing, and drawing down something on a napkin, an illustrated poem if I recall right. Faulkner picked it up, when finished and gave it to me saying, "Someday this will be worth a lot of money...save it, and thanks for the dinner." He excused himself and left the dinning car."" Again I must say, grandpa said he bought his book called, "Intruder in the Dust," the following year, l948 to be exact. My grandfather died in November 2002, and he said before he passed away to me, he sold that book, with that drawing and picture in it for $5200, dust jacket and all, 1st Edition, and the napkin, all in one. My grandfather was trying to teach me something I think, that is, first, befriend people, second, everyone has a good and bad side to them, and good and bad days, third, you don't know what the other person is going through, so don't be too quick to judge, and forth, with that $5200 which was as Mr. Faulkner pointed out, an investment, he took a free trip back to San Francisco in 2001, at the age of 97, with that money, the book costing something like $3.95 can't remember exactly, and the dinner not much more. My grandfather laughed saying, "...we both knew what we wanted...." Now I really didn't believe all this, not really, but I will say this, in l949, he received, my grandfather that is, received another signature of Mr. Faulkner's, and I know that for a fact, because he gave it to me, and I have it, I carry it in my billfold around all the time, and Mr. Faulkner even dated it, and I had it authenticated. ------------ About the author: Mr. Siluk is a world traveler, a lover of the mysteries around the world, and has visit many World Heritage Sites, the most recent being Easter Island and the Galapagos. His most recent book: "After Eve," and his 26th book thus far, can be seen on/at Barns and Nobel.com, Amazon.com, Walmart and several other sites. He spends his time between Lima, Peru and St. Paul, Minnesota, and is wroking on two more books: "Stay Down, Old Abram," and "Curse of the Abyss Worm," the second being a suspensful mystery. Visit http://dennissiluk.tripod.com Email: dlsiluk@msn.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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