Cultural icons I have known

I was reading the Writer's Almanac this morning, as per usual practice. That is usually the first thing I read as my day begins. Today is the birthday of Bobby Ann Mason, born in Mayfield, Kentucky. She is one of my favorites and her autobiographical book really tells a tale very familiar to me, although I didn't really grow up in Western Kentucky. She and Carolyn Gordon and Robert Penn Warren are the bards of Western Kentucky, although Warren didn't always write about the region, like Mason does.

Today is also the birthday of Terry Southern, a Texas native, who wrote "The Magic Christian", which is a satire, later made into a movie starring Peter Sellers. He also wrote "Candy", a retelling of Voltaire's "Candide", and which book may bear the honor of having been one of the few books to have been made into legitimate movies and porn movies. With all of the porno movies that came out of the book, it may be up there with Treasure Island, Huckleberry Finn, The Three Musketeers and Robin Hood for having been turned into more movies than any other pieces of fiction. Southern also wrote the screenplay to "Dr. Strangelove."

Now you are sitting there wondering how I know so much about porno movies. Its just a part of modern pop culture about which I have some passing knowledge. Leave it at that.

Well, it appears that 'The Boz' won't be able to meet with me tonight to join with Flip, Willie and Connally for an intercontinental supper. He is flying to Chicago. He also won't make an appearance at graduation next Saturday. I assured him that the icon of the Boz would continue to come up in post-graduation Presbyterian College alumni conversation. He is considering whether he should pass out rubber bracelets for the faithful or provide tattoos. As he told me earlier today, "Rubber bracelets are too temporary."

Indeed.