September 24 "...three months before I was born, my mother lost her other two children....I think I started then to be a writer." --- F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald September 24, 1896 - December 21, 1940 Born in St. Paul, Minnesota Died in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California of a heart attack at age 44 An elegant room, at the end of the hall on the the third floor, a quiet haven featuring several empty bottles of Tanqueray gin....lacking only a photo of the author, which I placed on the dressing table as my birthday gift to the room. [Sometime later, a photo of Zelda appeared as well.] My Guest Journal Entry: Happy Birthday, F. Scott Fitzgerald ! We have a past, you and I, that I'm only telling you about now. Of course, I've read every word you've written, plus much about you...and Zelda. And I've re-read Gatsby multiple times, which I never do ! But we have a special bond because I taught an extraordinary group of students about you...when I was in the Peace Corps, in Kisangani, Zaire (which is, once again, The Congo) in the late 1970's. I was a professor at the Universite Nationale du Zaire, and I was charged with teaching an American Literature course to future English teachers. The catch: I had no books. But I found a copy of Gatsby, borrowed a manual typewriter, bought a bunch of stencils, typed until my fingers bled, and then ran them off on an ancient mimeograph machine. Eh, voila ! My French-speaking students had excerpts from The Great Gatsby to study and marvel over. And now here I am, in a much cooler, safer, and more tranquil locale. (Ken Kesey slept here too, you know). We share September as a birth month, and a fierce romantic streak, and a belief in the green light. My gift to your room on your birthday is a photo I quite like of you: smiling, slightly disheveled, rather windblown. Is there anything in those pockets, other than your hands ? That will remain your secret---- Kelly Paige |
