Anonymous; Le Gran Directeur and Provocateur of the Great State of Art

WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT J.D. SALINGER’S NOVEL “CATCHER IN THE RYE?”

JUDAS PRIEST! I GREW UP ABOUT THE SAME TIME AS THE TIME DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK AND HAD SIMILAR EXPERIENCES IN NORTH LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA, NEW YORK CITY AND WASHINGTON D.C.

HOLDEN CAULFIELD AND I ARE ABOUT THE SAME AGE.

“SONUVABITCH”! HOLDEN GOT A ROOM IN NEW YORK CITY THAT NIGHT AT THE EDMONT HOTEL IN A “CRUMBY” ROOM WITH A VIEW OF OTHER ROOMS IN THE HOTEL. GIVE ME A BREAK. I RENTED A SIMILAR ROOM IN ANOTHER CHEAP HOTEL (FOR ONE NIGHT) WHEN I WAS IN NEW YORK FOR THE THIRD TIME IN 1969. IT WAS SO DEPRESSING IN THERE I MOVED TO THE YMCA THE NEXT DAY. HOLDEN HIRED A PROSTITUTE BUT ONLY WANTED TO TALK.

I WONDER  IF HOLDEN CAULFIELD CARRIED A RUBBER IN HIS WALLET, AS MOST OF MY FRIENDS AND I DID? DO YOU SUPPOSE MANY WERE ACTUALLY USED? NOW I CARRY THREE ASPIRIN TABLETS IN MY WALLET AND EXTRA HEARING AID BATTERIES.

HOLDEN SMOKED A LOT. MY NEIGHBORHOOD BUDDIES AND I SMOKED TEA, COFFEE AND PAPER AND LATER A CIGARETTE OR TWO IN  MEN’S TOILETS IN LOCAL GAS STATIONS.

J.D. SALINGER GETTING A HAIRCUT AT BOB'S BARBER SHOP AND SHOESHINE PARLOUR

HOLLY GOLIGHTLY WAS THE FICTIONAL MAIN CHARACTER IN TRUMAN CAPOTE’S BROADWAY PLAY “BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S.

HUGH GOLIGHTLY WAS A REAL ENSIGN IN THE U.S. NAVY WHO MY FRIEND JEAN DATED IN THE EARLY NINETEEN FIFTIES. HE WAS STATIONED ON A DESTROYER TIED UP AT THE LONG BEACH NAVAL SHIPYARD. SHE WENT ABOARD HIS SHIP A NUMBER OF TIMES AND HAD DINNER IN THE OFFICER’S MESS.

IN 1949, I WAS BRIEFLY EMPLOYED BY A LAUNDRY COMPANY DELIVERING AND PICKING-UP LAUNDRY AND DRY CLEANING FROM THE MANY DESTROYERS TIED-UP NEXT TO EACH OTHER AT THE SAME LOCATION, BEFORE DAYLIGHT, REQUIRING MY JUMPING FROM ONE SHIP TO ANOTHER.

IN 1950, I HAD THE PLEASURE OF SERVING BRIEFLY ON A NAVY TRANSPORT SHIP WITH MANY HUNDREDS OF OTHER AIRMEN AND SOLDIERS GOING TO KOREA.

PICKING-UP DIRTY LAUNDRY WAS ONE OF MANY PART-TIME JOBS I HAD WHILE ATTENDING LONG BEACH CITY COLLEGE.

By Frederick Kohli

“Pinecones, sunflower seeds and pineapples illustrate similar spirals of successive Fibonacci numbers, with the example below showing the alternating pattern of 8 and 13 spirals in a pine cone.”

“The Nautilus spiral, however, while not a Golden spiral, often displays proportions its dimensions that are close to a golden ratio, appearing in successive rotations of the shell as the Nautilus grows.  As with all living organisms, there is variation in the dimensions of individuals, so the appearance of the golden ratio is not universal.”   http://www.goldennumber.net