A bum by any other name . . .

I do a crossword puzzle in the newspaper each day in an effort to stave off Alzheimer's (which afflicts mom and afflicted dad - I use the term "afflict" deliberately, harboring no intention of accepting the disease for them or for me). An answer in a recent puzzle was "vagrant." It got me thinking about the word "bum," which Jack used a lot.

I looked up "bum" on Thesaurus.com and found these synonyms:

bindle, black sheep, derelict, drifter, floater, gutterpup, guttersnipe, hobo, stiff, tramp, transient, vagabond, vagrant

If you click on some of the synonyms for "bum" or its synonyms you find words like:

beggar, castaway, dawdler, grifter, ne'er-do-well, outcast, renegade, stiff, stumblebum, itinerant, nomad, rolling stone, transient, down-and-out, hitchhiker, homeless person, loafer, panhandler, wanderer, fugitive, gypsy, rascal, persona non grata, itinerant, exile, fugitive, refugee, reprobate, untouchable, wretch, undesirable

In the notes for "bum" it says "a hobo is a migratory worker who likes to travel, a tramp travels without working, and a bum does not travel or work."

Similarly, in the notes for "vagabond" it says "a vagabond refers to a person who leads a carefree, roaming existence; a vagrant ekes out a living by begging and is often considered a nuisance."

So I guess from society's perspective, it's better to be a hobo than a tramp, better to be a tramp than a bum. And it's better to be a vagabond than a vagrant.

Now I'm going to add a word to the list. If you look up synonyms for "exile," you will find that it is treated like a condition rather than a person. In that list is "diaspora," which means "spreading out of a group of people." It's often used to describe situations where the group that spread out was more or less forced to do so, like the Irish coming to America to escape the potato famine (personal connection there).

Here's my word (I didn't coin it) for the list:

diasporado

Here's my definition (I did create it - Google shows no definitions on-line):

a person who is part of a group that society marginalizes

So, my fellow diasporadoes, now you have a pretty exhaustive list of synonyms for "bum" that you can use in your next beat novel.

You're welcome.

BESP: Beat Economic Stimulus Package

It's time for true beats to do their part for the ailing economy. To wit, I present the Beat Economic Stimulus Package (BESP).

First, follow the advice contained in Day 9 of The Beat Handbook: "Right now, go up to the first person you see and give them $5.00." That ought to stimulate the economy. Or at least a conversation.

Second, buy a Kerouac book. You can never have too many and you can always give them away as gifts (again, advice from The Beat Handbook).

Third, buy The Beat Handbook. Admittedly, this latter suggestion is self-serving, but I promise to spend my royalties as fast as they come in!

Fourth, support your local bar. Stop in for a beer at least once a week, even if you have to scrape together coins from your couch cushions. And remember to tip the bartender.

So there you have it, a simple 4-step plan for stimulating the economy.

See you at the bar. Bring your copy of The Beat Handbook and I'll sign it for you.

Naked women serving coffee

A topless coffee shop has opened in Vassalboro, Maine, much to the consternation of some locals. See this article in yesterday's Kennebec Journal: Topless coffee shop opens.

I wonder what Kerouac would do? Would he stop by once for the novelty? Become a regular? Eschew the whole scene?

Hard to say. He was definitely a fan of caffeine. Naked women certainly didn't scare him, considering his pension for brothels. Maybe he'd stop there on the way to the bar.

My local coffee shop, the Lazy Lab Cafe in Belgrade Lakes, ME, had the following sign out front yesterday morning (inspired by the newspaper article):



I had to take the picture with my cell phone because my camera battery had died (my laptop battery died last week - must be something in the air), so if you can't read it in the picture, here is what it says:

*NOT*
TOPLESS
BUTT
COFFEE IS
*HOT*
*

I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty damn clever. Made me laugh.

Why do we get so exercised over nakedness?

Salon article: Breaking up with the Beats

"Breaking up with the Beats" is a killer piece from Salon in 1999. In it, author David Gates is fairly critical of the beats, and yet he states:

Dean Moriarty, the pseudonymized Neal Cassady of "On the Road," is one of American literature's great characters.

I appreciate Gates' criticisms, yet they pale in comparison to Kerouac's achievements. Who do we have today of Kerouac's stature? What living author has created one of American literature's great characters? What living author is identified as the defining voice of a generation?

Don't tell me it's a different time, there's the Internet, Jack's competition wasn't like it would be now, blah-blee-blah. Deal with what is! Jack did. And Jack's work will stand the test of time.

Period.

Blogger FRUSTRATION!

Since Blogger is broken beyond all recognition
That is, since the Post Options feature no longer works
And I cannot create a post one day and date it to post the next
And since Blogger is the most user-unfriendly blog site in existence
With no way to contact a human being and get help--
This is a post for today's date
Created today
For no reason other than to get a post dated February 24, 2009
And thus not break my streak

Give me Jack's Underwood

Please

The Beat Handbook: Reviewed

NOTE: The date for this post is wrong. Blogger is FUBAR lately, and I cannot get the posting to show February 24, which is the correct date for the post. Yesterday's post doesn't show a date! Grrrr.... Bottom line: I haven't missed a day since September 2008.

Here's a link to a recent review of The Beat Handbook: Reader Views.

Okay, it doesn't compare to Jack's New York Times review of On The Road (how could it?).

But hey, the reviewer has a Ph.D. and she didn't trash it!

That's something, right?


P.S. I don't know the reviewer.

The book review that launched Jack Kerouac's career

To read the book review that launched Jack Kerouac's career, see New York Times review of On The Road.

Quite a review, eh?