Shake It Up

One of the first recipients of the vaccine in the UK is named William Shakespeare, 81. This inspired the following tweets: “The Taming of the Flu,” “The Two Gentlemen of Corona.” Someone asked if Margaret Keenan, 90, was patient 1A, then was Shakespeare “Patient 2B or not 2B?” Articles say only that he is a namesake, not a descendant of the immortal bard. I’ll try one, from Romeo and Juliet: “I am fortune’s tool (fool)!” (Various sources)

So, is the rise in infections due to gatherings during the Thanksgiving break or to those who insist on partying in large groups or to the ineffectiveness of masks or to a combination of the above or other factors? According to what I’ve read and heard, the spread is not attributable to restaurant patronage, yet many are being forced to close. It still looks like Corona remedies are largely guesswork. Unfortunately, they are in the hands of the least capable — politicians. Let’s hope the words Shakespeare gave Richard III won’t be quite true: “Now is the winter of our discontent.”

I usually finish what I start. I’ve become a bit less anal with age, probably because of a desire to not waste any of the time I have left. I put aside the last two books I was reading. I expected to abandon the first, Lord of the Dead by Tom Holland, as its subject is vampires. I was hoping it would bring the wildness of Lord Byron, one of the central characters, to life. If it does, it’s after the first 60 pages. I next turned to the critically acclaimed first novel Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. Published in 2002, it was named the Book of the Year by the L.A. Times and received other awards. This is another case of a ballyhooed work that baffles me and makes me feel as if I’m clueless, despite all I’ve read and written, when it comes to literature. No wonder my own works don’t sell — I have no idea what constitutes a good novel. It is the story of a young American trying to find the Ukrainian woman who saved his family members from the Nazis, and the young man who acts as his guide. I got almost halfway through it. I found it grossly overwritten, tedious and annoying, those factors completely overshadowing the occasional interesting morsel. Don’t be influenced by my opinion. 618 users at Amazon have rated it, forging to a consensus of four on a scale of five. I was unable to find definitive figures on the number of copies it has sold, but a 2003 article at observor.com states that it had sold 350,000 in hardcover by then. It is still selling reasonably well, judging by its rank at Amazon. Foer’s second novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, was also very successful. Both novels have been adapted to the screen.

The forecast called for clouds and a slight chance of flurries. I was ecstatic when the sun poked through as I was setting up the books display. Conditions weren’t bad for the first half hour. I then decided to be smart and sit in the car while waiting for customers. Soon it began snowing. Thinking it would be brief, I remained seated. It continued and increased in intensity. I doubt any of the inventory was damaged, although lines may be raised on those books that are laminated. That doesn’t matter when they sell for a buck apiece. My thanks to the woman who bought a kids book… As I was packing up a gentleman approached and identified himself as Carol’s husband. I wasn’t sure who that was. He said she always bought books from me and that they helped him get through his prison sentence. Carol then emerged from the bank. She’d told me her husband had retired, which was fine, as it was none of my business where he was. He certainly doesn’t look to be close to retirement age. I suddenly recalled a Carol that lived up the street from our house on Bay 37th, whose dad was the super of the building near the corner of 86th Street. That girl attended John Dewey H.S. while I was an aide there. She was such a bubbly kid. I can’t wait to ask. Why did it take at least two years for it to occur to me? The woman’s voice is a lot deeper, perhaps from smoking, and gone is that upbeat persona. It’s not hard to understand why — if it’s her.

My Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Vic-Fortezza/e/B002M4NLJE

FB: https://www.facebook.com/Vic-Fortezza-Author-118397641564801/?fref=ts

Read Vic’s Stories, free: http://fictionaut.com/users/vic-fortezza