Re: Holden Caulfield Song

Gee ... I took a bit of time to join Sgt. X at the funny farm (merely
to visit the afflicted, of course, merely to visit), and I dared
venture back in here, hoping the place hadn't self-destructed, and
felt like someone visiting London after the Luftwaffe had left its
calling card.

I don't know where to begin, so I will say only a few points, and
please take them as gentle suggestions, not as commandments or
anything like this, nor as singling out of anyone.

Maybe it's true, what one character said in "The Godfather," that you
need some blood-letting every so often to clear the air, but I hope
we don't need that here. So, in no particular order:

Welcome, Joel, and thanks for your thoughts on the Piebald song.

Meghan, I'm sure you didn't mean to seem dismissive of Joel, but
please recall that he just got here recently, and may not have seen
the earlier discussions about songs. New people come all the time,
and while (as I said) I'm sure you didn't mean your answer to seem
negative, it could come across that way. I'd like to think we offer
a friendly welcome to new people and let them know if they're
touching on old territory, without making them feel dismissed. I
feared that your answer might have been a tiny bit off-putting to a
new person. Or maybe it was only my sloppy reading. Or maybe I'm
thinner-skin

One thing is for sure, and that is: the web archive has become
sloppily outdated, because I haven't been able to maintain it lately.
(Meaning that people can't be expected to stay current on new
postings. It's all my fault, and I apologize profusely.) No
Internet access when you're visiting Sgt. X, you know. But I'll
catch up soon, or Soon. Perhaps I'll get Sgt. X to subscribe. He
was very interested in the list, and promised to look into it when he
got out. But you take a man whose hands shook so badly, and you
don't know what to e-x-p-e-c-t, know what I mean?

The only other thing I must mention (my own hands are shaking, though
my gums don't bleed to the touch) is the Jim and John show. John, if
I had a little golden statuette I would definitely award it to you
for your scathing wit. I guess I'm something of a collector of such
things, and I appreciate your wit. However, Jim, I'm really sorry,
but I think Levi has a point there about taking it "outside"
(wherever that may be), because filters just don't cut it. Unless
you want a majority of subscribers to simply throw your stuff away
sight unseen (maybe that is a goal of yours?), you really need to
tone down the venom, please. This is not a place for barroom brawls,
and I think we would appreciate it if you stopped appearing as if you
are spoiling for a fight. Just one man's view, but I don't seem to
be alone in saying it. Oh, I'm not looking to fight with you or
anyone else, but it would be nice if you either toned things down or,
better, thought twice before sending off all those messages you send.
Perhaps you could trim things by half simply by not replying to every
message that comes your way; that might be a start. I don't know. I
know that cutting the quantity might help raise the quality a wee
bit. At least if you thought about the content in terms of its
combativeness, then it might help somewhat.

I don't mean to give the appearance of picking on you, Jim -- just
that you had a notably large number of messages compared to everyone
else, and lots were belligerent. I don't know it was a slow week for
you, or something like that, but I would look at whether you can come
up with some kind of middle ground. I won't go so far as to insult
you by saying what you should or shouldn't remark on. Just please go
about it in a way that less resembles declarations of war.

Well, I have to get back to Sgt. X before he notices I've gone
missing. I have to pretend I don't notice how his hair turned white
practically overnight, and suspect that he has extended me a
similar courtesy, since I can practically hear the sound of my hair
turning white. It resembles the sound of falling snow.

Now, everybody be nice while I check back in Happy Dale.... And keep
playing nice so that our list doesn't get busted for unnecessarily
hostile behavior, eh? I hope to join regular discussions soon.

--tim

P.S. Please note my new, permanent address, which is:
tim@roughdraft.org and which is good forever & ever. Any mail sent
to the NYU address ... well ... I can't speak for its ability to be
delivered.

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