Wednesday, December 7, 2011

FOUND!!!


Tennessee Williams and I leaving the 1981 Kennedy Center Honors dinner (where he was a returning alum). I was pointing, trying to get the photographer to snap Tennessee and not me -- I being semi-inebriated, my whole head ringing after Alexander Haig (who sat near me) kept clanging on his water glass with his knife to get the unruly Artists to listen to his closing speech. Tennessee (fully inebriated) was in afterglow still from hearing Maureen Stapleton's shocking command that she delivered to Audrey Hepburn, who sat next to Tennessee. Poor Audrey had to deliver the main speech as head of the Artists' Committee. She sat bolt-upright through the whole meal, chewing her knuckles -- until Maureen stopped by . . .


>>> REALLY: I'm trying to be brief, but not only did I find I could buy earphones at the public library FOR ONLY ONE DOLLAR US -- and they work GREAT, but then I had to leave because I can't listen to earphone music and work, and the library (usually being quiet), I couldn't take the frequent distractions of a small group of moronic homeless people (MOST homeless people are quiet in the library, but NOT the drug-addicted or badly-brought-up). Now I'm in a coffee shop where the background music and chatter doesn't bother me a bit.

And speaking of coffee shops, today, I asked one of Frank Delia's employees from the Italian Market to see if it wasn't all just an unfortunate misunderstanding between him and me -- actually, on HIS part -- but whatever. We need to heal it or he needs to identify himself as a supporter of Ben David and his recent campaign to smear my reputation through unspeakable slander. Period.

>>> I HATE TO ADMIT THIS, BUT . . . the link in yesterday's posting to the "final" Amazon edition of the end matter of my Williams memoir was AGAIN incorrect. Apparently, I did not post the final-final in this blog before, but I found it elsewhere and only a small part is IMPORTANTLY different.

Here is the changed portion (actually, it is ADDED material), and in preface I'd like to point out that "Texas" Kate (Kate Sharp Moldawer -- later McNamara, by birth Schweppe) was a native of Atlanta -- and grew up knowing Frank Hawkins Kenan, his brother James G. Kenan (Uncle Jimmy) and their families quite well, which she told me many times. She knew I was distantly related to them, but NONE of us knew then what an amazing connection we shared -- or at least I didn't:

During the time in 2010 and 2011 that I traveled Mexico and the United States seeking answers to why Alyson had said they would guarantee this book would never be published, and finally edited out the errors I could find as well as combed out a few tangles of text, I might not have recognized the deep background activities of the Republican Party in monitoring my every computer keystroke and phone call—and their constant cell-phone triangulation of my whereabouts in both countries—without the inadvertent help of the children of ―Texas Kate Moldawer:
1. Dudley Sharpe, Jr., whose father had been Dwight Eisenhower's Secretary of the Air Force and developed the United States' first laws governing Outer-Space Nuclear Warfare, as well as being President Eisenhower's top ally fighting the growth of what Eisenhower called "the Military-Industrial Complex." Dudley senior had been Howard Hughes' best friend in his early years, their fathers, then, being partners in the Sharp-Hughes Tool Company in Houston, Texas.

2. Kate "Junior" Farris.
3. Parker Moldawer.
All three combed my manuscript like scholars, correcting several errors. Although they wished not to be credited, I have decided to honor their mother's wish instead. In her youth, Kate Schweppe, a native of Atlanta, had been good friends with the most influential of my distant Kenan relatives. Hereby, I give them a glancing credit as well.

>>> AND, PERHAPS MOST MIRACULOUS OF ALL TODAY:

I found the original PROFESSIONAL reviews of WALKING ON GLASS. Amazon took them down because their policy is to allow NO professional reviews. I hope to put them on the back cover of the print edition which I HOPE to finish quite soon.

Some at First Presbyterian might not know that I gave 25% of ALL royalties (including film) to First Prez to increase wages for staff as they have had no raises in three years. When I arrived in town, I had no money -- but had rights. Because of continuing financial and political difficulties, I am so far unable to pay the accrued royalties, but expect that to reverse as I get print out and get to a STRONG MARKETING PLAN once I get the Dang Repubicans and D.A. Ben David off my back.

REVIEWS:

John Lahr, The New Yorker:

"I wasn't intending to read every word of your memoir; but it says something about how well you wrote it, that I did . . . you've found a very crisp and compelling style. And you come through vividly in it."

Thomas Keith: Editor of Tennessee Williams' books for New Directions Publishing:

"Scott has done a beautiful job with his memoir. What makes it stand out from previous memoirs about Williams is its integrity, and the depth to which Scott reveals his own situation, mental health problems, fears, and hopes. Because of that integrity, the day-to-day descriptions of life with Williams and Scott's take on the tangle of problems Williams faced near the end of his life are that much more insightful. I also happen to like Scott's ability to describe a person or set a scene--even his thread of commentary on weather, light, and seasons informs us about the sensitivities of the man telling this story."

Dr. Kenneth Holditch: Williams Scholar and Professor Emeritus at the University of New Orleans:

"Having finished your manuscript, I am confirmed in my initial judgment that this is a very fine work indeed. Tennessee really comes alive in your narrative, as do other personages, a few of whom I knew. Let me be truthful and say that I put off reading your work because I have read so many – both published and in manuscript – that were handed to me and been much too often disappointed in what I read. That was not the case with your book. I found it spell-binding and raced on through it at the expense of my chores."

Dr. Larry Myers: Playwright/Associate Professor, St John's University/Williams Friend & Scholar:

"Your book much seems channeled from some astral plane or higher consciousness. When I read it, HE IS HERE!"

* * *

>>> BUY IT HERE!!!: (THREE people that I know of were UNABLE to post reviews. The political difficulties I've had spilled onto Amazon, but are clearing up. Please add an HONEST review if you care to): http://www.amazon.com/WALKING-GLASS-TENNESSEE-WILLIAMS-ebook/dp/B0053480S2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323298376&sr=8-1 .

Thanks!
Scott
.

No comments: