The Empty Drum

Two of my favorite children's books these days are called "Zen Shorts" and "The Three Questions" by John J. Muth. What I like about these books are that they are picture books that are intelligent enough to read as a bedtime story to my seven-year-old son, yet interesting enough that my four-year-old enjoys them as well. Well, the latter book, "The Three Questions" is based on a story of the same name by Leo Tolstoy in which a king wishes to know how to do the right thing at all times by knowing the answer to three questions: "When is the right time to do things?", "Who is the most important one?", and "What is the right thing to do?". This story was adjusted to a younger audience, because in the original, the king tries to save a man who had wanted to kill him. In John J. Muth's version, the boy is asking his friends, gets stuck in a storm, and helps rescue a panda and her cub. It's a thought-provoking story, well reviewed, and artistically quite good.

Anyhow, reading the first version got me curious about the original, so we got a book out of the library that was a Children's collection of Tolstoy stories. One of the stories in there was called "The Empty Drum," in which a poor man marries a lovely woman. The king sees the woman and wants to claim her for his own, so hires the man and tries to assign him harder and harder tasks so that when he fails, he will be put to death and the king can be free to pursue the woman (who refused him). He meets every challenge, until finally, he is asked to go "there, don't know where" and get "that, don't know what." That way, the king is advised, whatever he gets, the king can say it's the wrong thing. The man ends up following a path advised by his wife (we never quite completely understand her in this story, so I am curious to read a more thorough "adult" translation of the story to answer my questions) and walks all the way to the sea, where he is to take an item that one answers above mother or father. He stays at a home overnight, and the next morning, sees a boy refuse to wake up when both his parents tell him to. Then he hears a noise, and the boy jumps up and rushes out the door to follow it. The man follows the boy (and the noise) and discovers the sound is coming from an empty drum. The drummer refuses to give it up, so the man follows him until he falls asleep and then takes it and heads back home. (Ah yes, great moral messages abound in this strange tale). There, he calls for the king, and when (as expected) he is refused, he pounds on the drum as he marches to the coast, then breaks it into pieces. As he was drumming, he was followed by all the soldiers of the kingdom who had learned long ago to follow the sound of the drum. And in breaking it, he broke the hold that the king had over his army, and thus lost his power. In that way, the king was forced to turn over his wife.

A couple of years ago, I bought a romance novel that was so incredibly creative (and not at all trashy like my husband had hoped). In it, the main character buys an antique book in which her namesake is a side character. The antique book is a Victorian era novel, and the main character (I'll call her Alex, because I do believe the character's name might have been Alexandra, but I'm not positive) is in love with the novel's hero. She falls asleep while reading and wakes up to discover that she is now in the novel as it's being written, in the scene during which she fell asleep. She is, of course, cast in the role of her namesake, and so logically she would only have one or two lines and would barely encounter the hero. She watches as a ballroom scene unfolds, then watches everyone relax because the author is taking a break. She keeps trying to guide the story so that she can meet the hero, but it's difficult, because he knows too well that characters can get written off or just dropped altogether if they become too difficult to work with.

So the whole concept of the characters being alive and being actors for the writer really resonated with me, especially since I've been struggling with one of my stories because I'm waiting (okay, I know, it's been two years since I last spoke with these characters; it's beyond waiting) for my characters to reveal to me what their back stories are. There's seriously one last piece I need to fit in, and then it all comes together. Theoretically.

But anyhow, I loved the story. It was so great, that I even emailed the author and told her. And she emailed me back and told me that she had another novel coming out in which the main character falls in love with a villain. Ooh, I can't wait to read it.

The problem is, I can't remember the name of the novel or the author. I can't find the book or the email exchange.

So I went to Border's (where I bought the original book) and looked around in the romance novel section trying to see if I would recognize the book or otherwise hit upon it. No luck. I then tried asking for help, but I knew going in it would be impossible to find a book without more information.

I went there, don't know where, to find that, don't know what. And as of yet, I'm still searching. But ah, that's the power of the internet for you. I'm am asking for your help. Have you by chance read this obscure book? Would you have any hints as to how I might find it? Any suggestions whatsoever? I have got to read the sequel. Just like I will pick up any Tracy Chevalier book (Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Lady and the Unicorn, The Virgin Blue, Falling Angels), and any book by Lauren Willig (The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, The Masque of the Black Tulip, The Deception of the Emerald Ring), I will gladly purchase any book written by this author...assuming I ever figure out her name!

Cleveland

I used to live in St. Louis, Missouri. When we first moved there, my husband and I (along with family members who had come to help us move) were walking along the river and noticed something in the water close to shore. We looked at it for a while, and when we just couldn't agree on what it was, we asked a guy who was sitting along the fence, and he told us it was a fire hydrant. We looked back at it, disbelieving, and while it did seem to fit the description, we still didn't buy it. We walked away wondering why he would tell us something so absurd.

Well, we reasoned, maybe it's an old one, back before all the redevelopment of the riverfront. Yeah, that must be it. It's just old and they never got rid of it.

We lived in St. Louis for two years, just long enough for me to complete grad school and for my husband to realize that he really didn't want to be an OB/Gyn. And in that time, we did manage to revisit the riverfront a few more times.

During some of these other visits, the water levels weren't quite so high. In fact, they were so low that cars parked on the dirt when they wanted to enjoy some good old-fashioned riverboat gambling. We saw the fire hydrant again, and admitted our folly and arrogance (at least I did; I cannot speak for anyone else).

I thought of this as I looked through the pictures of the Iowa floods earlier, and wonder about the history of civilization and whether there is a lesson to be learned here. I'm not in any way saying anyone deserved any of this, but we've certainly entered a post-Darwinian stage of existence, where it's not only the strongest that survive. I know I've talked about this before, that were we living purely according to Darwin's theories, nobody with any serious illnesses or disabilities would survive. But we've moved beyond that to a sort of communist-Darwinian stage, where we are living 'from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.'

The government takes as much money from us as is legally possible through our taxes, and we donated as much of our time, money, and belongings as we comfortably can. Then, through welfare, the Emergency department (where they are by law required to treat everyone who comes in regardless of his/her ability to pay), and various charity organizations, people get what they need. From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.

And this, I believe, is what angers people about the rich getting richer. They can give more, right? So they should, right? Or should they? Is their desire and ability to be wealthier part of what differentiates America from Canada or any other country? Isn't that what gives Americans hope?

I'm really just thinking out loud here (I'm not a quiet typist), so these thoughts may seem contradictory. Heck, you may not even get any sense of how I feel about the subject, whatever that may be.

But all this really begs the question of where we are headed and where should we be headed. Each and every one of us has an idea of what we believe America is and what it should be. And we would like a leader who will take us where we want to go. Well, right now, believe it or not, we live in a place where good things can and do happen. We are able to help one another and get things done.

I'm not saying this to boast about my accomplishments, but I just helped put together a charity collecting toys for the kids in Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, Iowa who lost everything in the recent floods but still deserved a smile this summer. And people gave. Admittedly, some people used the opportunity to empty out old toys that they couldn't sell at a garage sale, but by in large, people gave what they could to give something special to people who have had very little special this summer. This charity drive was not about me; sure, I'll put it on my resume and make it sound good (I organized it and created the flyers, posters, news releases, and website), but what I really want to come out of this is for Clevelanders to take pride in themselves.

I am sick of hearing about the Brain Drain. It's just not true. Just because it rhymes... Cleveland has long been attracting smart, talented individuals to work in some great companies and live in thriving communities, enjoying the standard of living, less traffic, and cheaper housing. University Circle will be undergoing some exciting development with new stores at street level and housing (as condos and apartments) above. The Cleveland Clinic attracts brilliant physicians, nurses, and other professionals to make it one of the best hospital systems in the nation. We've been attracting biotech industry. We're looking into becoming a new hotbed of Green technology with an infrastructure that is custom made for it. We've got Case Western, Cleveland State, Baldwin Wallace, and a number of other good schools. Private school-wise, we're top notch. We've got the Flats, Ohio City, Tremont, E.6th, and the various theaters to entertain us. We've got the Browns, the Indians, and the Cavs to distract us from the weather.

As for the weather, I love it. It's perfect. We are not limited at all. We get to enjoy both swimming and skiing. We can enjoy every sunny, warm day because we know how precious it is. We have the perfect weather for any sport.

I could go on and on. And sometimes, I feel like I should. We need to believe it. Because the more we talk about Cleveland suffering from a brain drain, the more it will come true. Those with brains that remain in Cleveland will start to head toward where all the other brains have gone, lest they not be thought of as a Brain.

Cleveland, be proud. Cleveland Plus should not be trying to sell itself to you. If we want to turn this city into something you can be proud of, do something about it. I now truly believe in the words of Mahatma Gandhi. "You must be the change you want to see in the world."

We can do anything we put our hearts and minds to. As Summer Santa proved, we can help kids in another city. What do we want to do for the kids in our city? 100% literacy? Green living? Safe streets? Guns gone? 100% graduation rate?

What do you want Cleveland to be? What can you do about it?