Openers: The man lay on a cot near a window in one of the wards of the French army hospiptal at Toulon. Dr. Dumain, who was showing me through the hospital and who had been called away to attend a delirious patient in another ward, had told me the man's name was Bonnot, and that he had shot himself in the breast two days before in the barracks at the fort.
I had started after the doctor, thinking to take advantage of the opportunity to make my escape -- had had enough of the hospital for the day -- and had nearly reached the door, when a hoarse, agitated voice sounded from behind.
"Monsieur!"
I halted. The man in the cot had turned his head to look at me with eyes tht positively startled me with their expression of poignant, intense suffering.
The outline of his body under the white sheet and the knotty appearance of his arms, which lay outside, showed him to be big, muscular fellow; his bare shoulders were brown and massive. His chest and neck were swarthed in bandages; but these details did not enter my conciousness till later.
My whole attention was centered on his eyes, that burned like twin fires of agony; and I told myself that no physical pain could produce so keen a torment. As I looked, one great, brown arm was outstretched toward me.
"Monsieur, s'il vous plait," he murmured.
-- "Target Practice" by Rex Stout (from All-Story Cavalier Weekly, December 26, 1914; reprinted in Stout's collection Target Practice, 1998)
And so Bonnot tells his story. He was born in Alsce, some fifteen mies from the French border. Hi only sibling, Theodore, was six years younger. When the baby was ten months old their father died, leaving the family impoverished. Family friends offered to take Theodore to Frankfort as their own son. Bonnet's mother agreed, Shortly thereaafter, the mother and Bonnet moved to Paris, where she found low-wage work -- never enough to be able to send for Theodore. Years later they were able to make one trip to Germany where they found Theodore thiving as a uiversity student. Even later, in 1909, Theodore came to visit them in Paris, staying for two years; he had been sent by the german government to conduct some sort of scientific enquiries.
Bonnot, now in his early thiries, enlisted in the French army and distinguished himself as an artillery marksman. Working his way up from the ranks, Bonnet became a sergeant and placed in charge of Battery No. 3 in Toulon. Then the war came and half of the men at his fort were sent to the front but Bonnet remained because of his importance to Battery No. 3. The colonel at the fort insisted that regular target practices be held.
One day bonnet had a visitor -- his brother Theodore. who said that he had been drafted for the German army but had escaped to come to France. Overjoyed at being reunited with his borther, Bonneot proudly led him around the fort showing him the big guns arrayed there. Theodore appeared more interested in talking about the old days in Paris, but all the time his eyes were moving back and forth, taking everything in. Of course he was a German spy. Bonnot discovers this, as well as notes Theodore has written, and locks him in the gun room while he goes for the authorities. When he reached his captain, Bonnot could not bring himself to give his brother up. He returns to the locked gun room and discovers his brother gone, presumably leping over a parapet across an eighteen foot trench and then over a wall -- something very difficult but not completely impossible.
Suddenly it's time for target practice. Bonnot inspets the three available guns, only one of which would be used in that day's target practice. Hidden in the bore of the giant artillery gun was Theodore! Bonnot tried to convince himself that it was not he who fired the gun, but that it was France itself.
Rex Stout (1886-1975) really needs no introduction. The creator of Nero Wolfe and Arhis Goodwin was one of the most famous mystery writers of the twentieth century. He began writing in 1910, selling a few short poems, but by 1912 Stout had begun publishing an array of stories in the pulps and other magazines. In 1916 he invented the school banking system which was adopted in more than 400 schools, earning him far more money than his writing thur far had ever done. (Is it still in existence? I wonder. I remember it being used in my elementry school of too many year ago.)
His first book, How Like a God, was published in 1929, followed by Seed on the Wind (1930), Golden Remedy (1931), and Forest Fire (1933). In 1934 his proto-science fiction political thriller The President Vanishes was published anonymously. 1934 also saw publication of the first Nero Wolfe detective novel, Fer-de-Lance.
Stout was outspoken on many political and intellectual affairs. He was active in the American Civil Liberties Union, was head of the War Writer's Board during World War II, wrote propaganda for Fight for Freedom, hosted three rdios shows during the war, made numerous public broadcasts and speeches, led The Society for Prevention of World War III, was active in the United World Federalists, supported the nascent United Nations, led the Author's League of America during the McCarthy era, was the long-time president of the Author's Guild, and was the 14th president of the Mystery Writer's of America and received its Grand Master Award in 1959.
Two of Stout's books are particularly close to my heart. The Doorbell Rang was a Nero Wolfe novel that ended with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover grovelling at Wolfe's doorstep. Reportedly, one third of Stout's (again reportedly) massive FBI file dealt with this book. In 1942, Stout published The Illustrious Dunderheads, whih published islolationist, anti-World War II, and pro-Nazie statements by sitting members of Congress. Would that he were alive today to publish a sequel, perhaps titled The Malevolent Dunderheads.
Incoming:
- Carl Hiaasen & Bill Montalbano, Trap Line and A Death in China. Thrillers. Before writing satirical crime novels that deconstruct the great state of Florida, Hiaasen penned three thrillers with fellow reporter Montalbano. Here are the second and third of that trio. Trap Line: "With its dozens of outlying islands and the native Conchs' historically low regard for the law, Key West is a smuggler's paradise. All that's needed are the captains to run the contrband. Breeze Albury is one of the best fishing captains on the Rock, and he's in no mood to become the Machine's delivery boy. So the Machine sets out to persuade him. It starts by taking away Albury's livelihood. Then it robs him of his freedom. But when the Machine threatens Albury's son, the washed-out wharf rat turns into a raging, sea-going vigilante....[it's] a handyful of scruffy Conchs against an armada of drug lords, crooked cops and homicidal marine life. The resultt is a crime novel of dizzying velocity, filled with enough wrenching plot twists, gritty authentic characters, and enough local color for a hundred tropical shirts." A Death in China: "David Wang, Chinese-American art historian, dies shortly after a visit to an ancient tomb housing priceless artifacts. Officials diagnose death by duck, a fatal confluence of culture shock and rich cuisine. But Wang's friend Tom Stratton suspects something more sinister, especially after the dead man's brother, a highly placed Party official, tries to have him kidnapped. From a nightmarish interrogation to assassination by cobra, A Death in China takes readers on a trip with no rest stops through a world of claustrophobic mistrust and terrifying danger." A different Carl Hiaasen than many of his readers would recognize.
- Florida Man Nathaniel Singleton, 71, was one of 20 person arrested for voting illegally in the 2022 election in a sham crack-down by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Singleton said that he did not realize that he was ineligible to vote. In fact, he had been told by the state Board of Corrections that all of his rights had been automatically restored. (This is in line with what many of others who were arrested had stated.) Singleton had obtained a voter crd after signing up with the Supervisor of Elections in his county. A 2018 ballot measure allowed felons to restore their right to vote. The republican-led legislature, which had not beenin favor of the initiative namged to add a few caveats to muddle up the process, including a requirement that felons repay all money owed to the state before being allowed to vote. Most felons do not know if they owe any such money and have never beeninformed of the fact. Record keeping is so nebulous that it is difficult to determine who owes what, if anything. The formlprocess to restoring one's voting rights is also muddled and unclear and most have no idea it exists. All of this makes perfect fodder for a politician aiming for a higher office and wanting to throw some red meat to his most conservative followers. And, really? You cuold only find twenty felons out to destroy democracy out of how many million voters, Ron?
- Florida Men Joel O'Grady, 38, and his son Julian Falkinberg, 21, both of Sanford, are wanted for knocking another man unconscious at a wedding reception, then kicking the man repeatedly before they fled. A tender little memory for the bride and groom of their most important day.
- In another case of 'Is our children learning?" Florida teacher Diane Tirado was fired as an eighth grade history teacher at a school in Port St. Lucie apparantly for issuing zeroes on class assignments that were not turned in or even started. Although she is a ong-time teacher, Tirado was new to the Port St. Lucie school system and to its "no zero" grading poliicy. It turns out "the student and parent handbook declares 'NO ZEROES -- LOWEST POSSIBLE GRADE IS 50%.' in bright red lettering." School adminstrators confirmed the policy to Tirado, who felt it was wrong to give half credit for not doing the work. She gave out the zeroes, Then she was fired. Becuse she was new to the system, Tirano was still under a probationary period and no reason need to be given for the dismissal. But we all have a pretty good idea what the reason was.
- Florida Woman Julia Kinsey Hoover, 39, was arrested after a former student at the Christian private school she worked at accused her of "twerking" against him at his prom two years ago. The student claimed that Hoover pressured him to drink and began "twerking" on him several times during the evening. The student said her actions made him uncomfortable and he left the floor each time it happened. Sheriff's Investigator Brian Cruse said that he had interviewed two witness who confirmed the incident. He also said that he foundout Hoover had solicited sex from a student via text messages. Either things like this did not happen while I was in high school or I was too dumb to notice.
- Pipes a million times thinner than human hair could be used to deliver personalized therapies to individual cells https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/worlds-tiniest-plumbing-system-for-delivering-personal-medicine/
- Mankuna honey could help clear the deadly bacteria which causes cystic fibrosis https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/manuka-honey-could-help-to-clear-deadly-drug-resistant-bacteria-which-cause-cystic-fibrosis/
- A mythical Welsh kingdom drowned by the sea could have existed according to glacier reserch and a famous map https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/184710-2/
- Grandma lost 250 pounds and is now a bodybuilder after saggy skin removal https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/grandma-lost-250-pounds-and-is-now-a-bodybuilder-after-saggy-skin-removal/
- Long lost brothers to be reunited after 77 years and 10,000 miles https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/long-lost-brothers-to-be-reunited-after-77-years-apart-and-10000-miles/
- Pakistan's first female architect delivers bmboo-built relief shelters after devasting floods https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/pakistans-first-female-architect-brings-bamboo-built-relief-shelters-to-flood-risk-areas/
- Scientists discover how to starve key growth hormwone from melanoma cells in new breakthrough https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/starving-melanoma-of-one-key-enzyme-could-lead-to-several-different-non-chemo-treatment-options/
Can you tell me what I should look for in KIVA?
ReplyDeleteTheir website gives you all sorts of options. Your interests my vary. You can pledge a small amount for a specific purpose, or an ongoing small amount for a specific catagory. I chose to support woman-based projects for personal reasons, but everything from small business opportunites to education to research to environmental projects and more are on the table. You can also choose to support projects within the United States or internationally, in least developed countries or in conflict areas around the world. Projets can impact individuals, families, or entire communities, either directly or indirectly. The great thing is that you have a chance to make your own personal decision -- who or what area you wish to impact. Kiva is a fairly transparant organization; most of your questions can be answered on their website (and be sure to check out the FAQ section). Also be sure to check them out on Charity Navigator. There are many other microfinance charities out there (and others, such as Heifer International) that do good work. The problem is picking the right one that meets your wants. Good luck, Patti! I'd be interested to know if you decided to support Kiva or any other similar group.
DeleteI will look for something on Kiva. I may send them a check rathr than do it online. I can't tell you how many emails and texts I get every day from giving out those emails and credit card info.
ReplyDelete