The Great Perhaps

These nymphs have flown out of the book written by John Green, called "Looking for Alaska."

If you have not yet read the book, they could turn into SPOILERS - you do not want them to find you and corrupt your reading transformation.

Start July 29 > The little nymph whispers to me, "What is the inspiration for Culver Creek Boarding School . . .does it exist in this interactive realm?"

Start July 30 > I decide to see if I could retrace John's path, but discovered the exclusive nature of the aristocratic reservation of the Indian Springs area.





I did explore the surrounding mansions and upscale hermitage homes and I felt some of the disdain that the Colonel expressed. The peace of the residents walking about their yards or down the well kept roads seemed surreal. One yard had its own 19th century cannon. Everything was neatly maintained. I saw a shiny black Benz pull up to a gate and watched it open in automatic deference to the driver.  I dared not stray from the public access road or tarry too long to raise alarm. Signs promised residents with electronic surveillance and an active neighborhood watch.

I saw five deer feeding along the side of the road. That along with the Blue Moon rising helped me to overcome the feeling of social exclusion.

The second nymph kissed me with this thought; "Why would the poor struggling mother of the Colonel send him into such an exclusive place?" So I took a look at his home town through Google:

Another nymph inspired me to look for Alaska's hometown of Vine Station, Alabama. I have not been able to locate it at all,even though that sounds very much like a small town in Alabama. So why would John Green use a real place for the Colonel and a fictions place for Alaska? I will sleep on that.

< End July 30.

Start August 8 > I am currently reading Paper Towns and I have read The Fault in Our Stars several times. I see a pattern of young males gathered up being young males, with the focus on some female that is a life altering event for these males, but most certainly for one chosen male. I wonder if John Green found a muse in his adolescence that has been with him ever afterwards in his creative pondering on life. Maybe this is why Alaska's hometown is quite possibly a fictional place whereas the Colonel's is most certainly in existence.

I drove by the Indian Springs school in pursuit of another Alaska nymph and saw a change. The gate next to Hwy 119 had been removed and I thought I might be able to take a gander of the campus. The just rebuilt a much nicer one a lit bit further down the road, not visible from the highway.

I also took a picture of the 19th century cannon.

The current Alaska nymph ignited a curiosity in the book that was so important to Alaska and to the story in general; The General in His Labyrinth. I remembered seeing a library down the road from the Indian Springs school and decided I would go there to see if I could find it. The following videos document the library adventure:

< End August 8

Start August 15 > I read the first chapter of The General and his Labyrinth, and got started on the second chapter. This is historical fiction about the last seven months Simon Bolivar of South American fame. I might read it if I was looking for inspiration in historical research, but generally it focuses on life's futility. Here is a man who accomplished great things in his revolution against Spain only to see his power base disintegrate as did his own health. I cannot arouse enough historical or personal passion to finish reading this book, because of it is full of sadness and futility and iconoclastic intimacy. I see there are many good quotes in the book, it just is not for me - at least not at this point in my life.

I found that I could flip to any part in the book, after reading the first chapter, and not get lost. It is a journey of the reflection of a powerful ego who was given the humiliation of futility to make up for his lack of humility. So I turned to the part that was cited by Alaska, on page 267:

Alaska asked Pudge to identify the Labyrinth. There were speculations that it was the awareness of death or that it was suffering in life. Alaska gave her own observations about the significance of the labyrinth on page 54;

"Jesus, I'm not going to be one of those people who sits around talking about what they're gonna do. I'm just going to do it. Imaging the future is a kind of nostalgia. . .You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use he future to escape the present."

I think the labyrinth is the seeking of a resolution of my self-awareness, a purpose or destination in my life's journey. This brings a quietly screaming expectation that death will ensure the devoted seeker of significance accompanied by that ultimate reward of knowing. Yet, death is generally just an unexpected interruption of life. It offers no logical conclusion or completed resolution of the quest. I think John Green is toying with this idea in the use of aneurysm for the interruption of her mother's life and the shock of a child left to ponder that reality in intimate futility and a sense of personal failure. Her answer is to quit seeking and to live life in forced impulse. 

I noticed that Green also mentioned the occurrence of aneurysms several times in his book, "Paper Towns." An aneurysm is the sudden, unplanned interruption of life.

The nymphs and I are happy with this resolution and they are free to fly and to return as muse another day, if they so desire. Oh wait, what is it but another nymph reminding me of a book that was mentioned that I have not read and desire to; Ethan Frome.