Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Sweets from a Stranger And Other SF Stories by Nicholas Fisk /"Flowers for Algernon", by Daniel Keyes. However it is pretty clear to me that the story must be the best known of any Hugo or Nebula winner, partly because it is on many junior high school reading lists in the United States and Canada, but also because it is quite simply of outstanding quality. I also had to acknowledge that I had personal reasons for not wanting to write about "Flowers for Algernon" , which I will come to at the end, and perhaps doing this article is a kind of useful therapy. I am going to assume that you have also read "Flowers for Algernon" and there will be no attempt to conceal plot details below. If you have not read it, you should go somewhere else now. Member of MagiCon, the 50th World Convention in 1992, were asked also to vote for the best of all previous Hugo winners in each of the established categories. In three of the four fiction categories the results were rather close; there was little distance in the novel category between The Moon is a Harsh Mistress , Dune , and Stranger in a Strange Land ; in the novelette category, "" was only just ahead of "" , "" , "Unicorn Variations" and "Blood Music" ; and in the Short Story category, "I Have No Mouth and I must Scream" was a little more convincingly ahead of "Neutron Star" , "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" , and "The Star" . But in the novella category, there was a very clear winner: of 842 votes cast (the most votes cast for any category), "Flowers for Algernon" received 201 first preferences - more than the next three stories added together - 100 second preferences and 71 third preferences. (The next three stories were Anne McCaffrey's "Weyr Search" , which of course was the start of her Dragonriders of Pern series; "" , by Barry B Longyear; and "" , by .) It seems pretty likely that if the poll had been a single ballot for all works of fiction which have won Hugos, the short version of "Flowers for Algernon" would have easily beaten all comers. The novel version is slightly less celebrated, but only slightly. SFWA members were asked to rank all Nebula winners from 1965 to 1985 in the summer of 1987, and while Ben Bova does not give awfully full details in the resulting "Best of the Nebulas" anthology, it seems a reasonable deduction that Flowers for Algernon came second or third in the novel category, definitely behind Dune and possibly behind either The Dispossessed or The Left Hand of Darkness . The success of "Flowers for Algernon" is really due to three things: the beginning of the story, the middle and the end. To start with the beginning: " progris riport 1: martch 5, 1965 . Dr. Strauss says I shud rite down what I think and evrey thing that happins to me from now on." There are not a lot of sf stories written in diary format (apart from Dracula , the vastly inferior Podkayne of Mars is the only one that occurs to me right now) but immediately one wants to find out what happins, er, happens. And the first paragraph established our narrator, 37 years old, with considerable learning difficulties, and keen to "be smart". The details of the scientific procedure are not at all clear but don't need to be; the experiment, the bakery, and the adult literacy classes, are all simply and clearly laid out. The middle of the story includes two crucial scenes. The first of these is the moment when Charlie realises that his colleagues from the bakery have been mocking him rather than being friendly; a fact that we the readers have known for some time. It's the crucial (and cruel) demonstration that Charlie's new intelligence puts him completely out of phase with his previous life. The second is the point when Charlie realises that his new intelligence puts him far ahead of the scientists who have created it as well. In both short story and novel this is crystallised in the moment when he is astonished to learn that Professor Nemur doesn't understand Hindi. It's well done, because we the readers are unaware until then that Charlie has learnt the language in a matter of weeks, but it's perfectly credible that he has forgotten to mention this in his diary. The novel version of the story embeds this incident in the middle of the conference in Chicago episode. But it's the end of the story that really sticks in your mind. Charlie's realisation that his new intelligence is only temporary, Algernon's death, and Charlie's subsequent regression back to the point where we first met him, all add up to perhaps the most poignant climax of any sf story, ending with one of the most memorable final sentences, "Please if you get a chance put some flowrs on Algernons grave in the bak yard." Keith Kushner comments on rasfw that in most diary-style stories, the narrator ends up dead, but singles out Flowers for Algernon as an exception; I don't think it is, though I notice that a number of the on-line reviews listed below assume that Charlie has left New York to find a new life. For me this reading best supported by the text is that Charlie has ended his diary because he still knows, at some level, that very soon he is going to die, and he is going off to find himself a quiet place where his life can end. Some find "Flowers for Algernon" manipulative; I think that Keyes steers the right side of what is a very fine line. Some find his treatment of people with learning disabilities outdated and unrealistic. He can hardly be blamed for the first (I admit the use of the word "moron" does startle one); on the second point, of course Charlie has some rather unusual attitudes for someone with his level of disability, but I don't think it's completely off the spectrum, and in any case great novels are often about rather unusual people. Some find the novel far too slow moving and padded compared with the short story. I have a little sympathy for this viewpoint, and would probably have thinned some of the second half, but I feel that the extended portrayal of Charlie's psychosexual development does add depth (admittedly to a story which was already quite profound). In my 0-3 stars ranking system for these reviews, I am in no doubt that both versions of "Flowers for Algernon" deserve all three stars; the only question is whether I could give an exceptional fourth star to the shorter version. I find this a particularly difficult story to write about because I have witnessed a regression including complete loss of speech in a young member of my immediate family. As a callous and callow teenager I found the story exceptionally moving; now I find it almost unbearable. (For similar reasons I find that Dan Simmons' Hyperion and Mary Doria Russell's Children of God stick in my mind but I will not rush to reread either book.) I hope that you reading this do not ever experience such an event, either first hand or in a loved one. Other on-line reviews of "Flowers for Algernon": Blaise Selby, for SciFi.com John D. Owen, for infinity plus Stephen M. Davis, at the sfsite Jay Russell at tangledweb.uk John Regehr Jandy Clarke numerous teenage readers at smartgirls.com Three students at Watauga High School Much discussion at epinions.com. The next review in this series will be of 's novel, Forever Peace . "Flowers for Algernon" won the 1960 for Best Short Fiction. Other 1960 Hugo winner: Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein. Flowers for Algernon was joint winner of the 1966 Nebula Award for Best Novel. Other winners of 1966 Nebulas: "The Last Castle" , by (best novella); "Call Him Lord" , by Gordon R. Dickson (best novelette); "The Secret Place" , by Richard McKenna (best short story) Other award for the novel version. nominated for 1967 Hugo Award (beaten by The Moon is a Harsh Mistress , by Robert A. Heinlein. Publication details for the shorter version. F&SF , April 1959 The 5th Annual of the Year�s Best S-F , ed. Judith Merril, 1960 The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: Ninth Series , ed. Robert P. Mills, 1960 Best SF 4 , ed. Edmund Crispin, 1961 The Hugo Winners, Volume 1 , ed. , 1962 Stories of Suspense , ed. Mary E. MacEwen, 1963 Stories from Science Fiction , ed. G. D. Doherty, 1966 Night in Funland , ed. Jerome Brondfield, 1968 Science Fictions , ed. Arnold Thompson, 1971 The Hugo Winners, Volumes One and Two , ed. Isaac Asimov, 1972 Introductory Psychology Through Science Fiction , ed. Harvey A. Katz, Patricia S. Warrick & Martin H. Greenberg, 1974 Is There Life on Earth? , ed. Peter D. Moss, 1975 The Late Great Future , ed. Gregory Fitz Gerald & John Dillon, 1976 Psy-Fi One , ed. Kenneth B. Melvin, Stanley L. Brodsky & Raymond D. Fowler, Jr., 1977 Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, 30th Anniversary Issue , ed. Edward L. Ferman, 1979 Isaac Asimov�s Science Fiction Treasury , ed. Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg & Joseph D. Olander, 1980 Space Mail , ed. Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg & Joseph D. Olander, 1980 The Road to Science Fiction #4 , ed. James E. Gunn, 1982 Science Fiction: A Historical Anthology , ed. Eric S. Rabkin, 1983 Science Fiction , ed. Patricia S. Warrick, Charles G. Waugh & Martin H. Greenberg, 1988 The Super Hugos , ed. Martin H. Greenberg, 1992 The Puffin Book of Science Fiction , ed. Nicholas Fisk, 1993 F&SF May, 2000 (which also included an article by Keyes, "Algernon, Charlie, and I: A Writer�s Journey") , "" Isaac Asimov, "The Bicentennial Man" Isaac Asimov, "The Gods Themselves" Greg Bear, "Blood Music" Greg Bear, Darwin's Radio Terry Bisson, "Bears Discover Fire" Terry Bisson, "macs" Lois McMaster Bujold, A Civil Campaign Octavia Butler, "Bloodchild" The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction Mark Campbell, Pocket Essentials: Doctor Who Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game Ted Chiang, Hell Is the Absence of God Arthur C. Clarke, The Fountains of Paradise Neil Gaiman, American Gods Neil Gaiman, Coraline Joe Haldeman, Forever Peace Joe Haldeman, The Forever War Frank Herbert, Dune Daniel Keyes, Flowers for Algernon Nancy Kress, "Beggars in Spain" Ursula Le Guin, The Dispossessed Fritz Leiber, "Catch That Zeppelin" Fritz Leiber, "" Kelly Link, "The Faery Handbag" Barry B. Longyear, Enemy Mine Vonda N. McIntyre, Dreamsnake George Mann (ed.), The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Science Fiction , Gateway J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Charles Sheffield, Georgia On My Mind Clifford D. Simak, Grotto of the Dancing Deer Neal Stephenson, Cryptonomicon Vernor Vinge, A Deepness in the Sky Connie Willis, Doomsday Book Connie Willis, "Even the Queen" Connie Willis, "Fire Watch" David Wingrove (ed), The Science Fiction Source Book. brief reviews of the joint winners of the Hugo and Nebula awards, 1st page , 2nd page and 3rd page. Stranger Than Santa: Europe’s Most Unusual Christmas Characters. If you think a flying sleigh is weird, get a load of these Christmas myths. T he American version of Santa—fat and cheery and headed down the chimney with toys—is becoming popular throughout Europe. But most countries also have their own beloved Christmas characters who have been part of holiday celebrations for centuries. Some, like Saint Nicholas and Father Frost, bear a strong resemblance to the man in red. Others, like the gossamer-winged Christkindl, the horned Krampus monster, and the ogress Gryla, will give you an entirely different way to celebrate the holidays. Pooping Logs. A scatalogical cross between a yule log and a piñata, the Caga Tió reigns as the supreme Chirstmas figure in Catalonia, in northeastern Spain. Also known as the Tió de Nadal, this log (which often has a face painted on it and a red hat set on its "head") is said to poop out presents for good little kids on Christmas morning. Children start fattening up the pooping Yule log on December 8 th , feeding him sweets and covering him with a blanket to keep him warm, and finally beating him with a stick on Christmas day while singing carols ordering him to “poop good”. A Giant Turned Peasant. Elsewhere in Northern Spain, Christmas is celebrated by the arrival of a more human-looking figure called Olentzero in Basque Country and Apalpador in Galicia. This character was originally part of pagan winter traditions, which held him to be a Jentilak, one of an ancient race of Basque giants who would punish glutinous villagers. These days, however, Olentzero is portrayed as a poor man who was abandoned at birth and raised by a fairy and given eternal life after saving children from a fire. This kinder (man-sized) Olentzero brings gifts to children on Christmas Eve, when his likeness is paraded through the streets. The Three Kings. While the pooping log and Olentzero are specific to particular regions of Spain, the Three Wise Men, or Three Kings, are welcomed as gift bringers across the Iberian Peninsula, in both Spain and Portugal. In Spain it’s believed that Melchior represents Europe, Caspar represents Asia and Balthazar represents Africa. In the days leading up to Epiphany (January 6) kids can hand deliver their letters to the king of their choice in shopping malls. On January 5 th , kids leave a drink for the kings and food for the camels, then wake up the next morning to small presents in their shoes and bigger gifts beside them. In both Spain and Portugal, people eat a traditional Kings’ Cake that usually has a bean and a small toy or king figurine hidden inside it. The person that gets the bean has to buy the following year’s cake, and the person who gets the toy gets to wear the paper crown. Christmas Saints. Article continues below advertisement. Saint Nicholas—perhaps the Christmas season’s most famous saint and the basis for most versions of Santa Claus—brings gifts to kids in Holland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and parts of Germany on December 6th. Tall and slim and dressed as a bishop, Saint Nicholas visits each house and fills children’s shoes with gifts and sweets. (He often has mischievous companions, responsible for taking care of the bad children. See below.) In Norway and Sweden, Santa Lucia is the focus of the holiday season. On December 13th, young women dress up as the saint in white gowns, red sashes, and crowns of burning candles and carry palm fronds, cookies, and rolls in processions, singing songs about surviving the long dark winter ahead with plenty of light. According to Swedish legend, Lucia (who is usually pictured as young and blonde, like many Swedish girls) was Adam’s first wife. Saint Lucia is also celebrated in northern Italy, Sicily, Calabria, and on the coast of Croatia, but in these places the holiday is marked by a large family meal. In Greece, Saint Basil replaces Saint Nicholas as the gift-bringer. Traditionally he leaves kids presents on January 1st, but in recent years, the saint has been replaced (in some families, at least) by a Saint Basil-esque Santa character who shows up on the 24th and 25th. Regardless of which tradition people follow, everyone eats a Saint Basil cake with a coin inside it on New Year’s Day to pay tribute to the saint who was born wealthy and gave his riches to the poor. Christmas Whippers and Monsters. In some countries, a malevolent helper accompanies the Christmas gift-bringer. In Austria and Bavaria, the horned, hoofed, and hairy Krampus monster comes down from the mountains on December 5th to punish misbehaving children. Krampus cuts an ugly figure. His tongue lolls out of his mouth, long and pointy, and in some places he carries chains said to symbolize the binding of the devil by the church. He usually appears armed with a whip or birch branches to swat kids and a sack or tub strapped to his back to haul the really bad children off to his lair for further punishment. Despite his scary appearance, the character is quite popular: Young men sometimes dress up and participate in Krampus runs, and the figure is featured on greeting cards. The character also makes an appearance in Slovenia, where he is known as Parkelij. In Germany, France, and the Netherlands, Saint Nicholas has a human helper to do the dirty work of punishing the naughty. In Germany, he’s a farmhand called Knecht Rupert, and in France the character is known as Le Père Fouettard—literally, the father whipper. In the Netherlands and Flanders, there is a similar (if more controversial) character, Black Pete, a Moor who accompanies Saint Nicholas on his trip to Holland from Spain. Black Pete is usually portrayed at holiday events by a white person in black face, which is one of the many reasons that the character has become controversial and is starting to fall out of favor. Father Frost. In Russia and much of the former Soviet Bloc, kids receive winter visits from Father Frost on New Year's Day. Called Ded Moroz in Russian, he wears a heel-length fur coat of red, blue, silver or gold, a semi-round fur hat, and traditional felt boots. He has a long white beard and a magical staff and rides a horse-drawn sleigh called a troika . He’s accompanied by his granddaughter and helper, the beautiful snow-maiden Snergurochka, who wears long silvery robes and a furry hat or snowflake-shaped crown. Despite the fact that the Soviets originally banned images of Father Frost (due to worries that the character was a symbol of bourgeois western influence with religious connotations), Russia later exported Father Frost to the rest of the Soviet Bloc countries. Christmas Witches. Article continues below advertisement. In Russia and other Slavic countries, kids also hear about Baba Yaga, a haggard old witch who tries to steal children’s holiday gifts and is the enemy of Father Frost and the Snow Maiden. Baba Yaga has iron teeth and a long hooked nose and spends her days flying around in a mortar, paddling the air with a pestle, and hanging out in her hut, which walks around the forest on chicken legs. Italy has an equally haggard—but much friendlier—old woman, La Befana, who delivers presents to well-behaved kids on the eve of Epiphany (January 5th). La Befana rides a broomstick that she uses to clean up the ash she scatters when she drops into houses through their chimneys. She stuffs good kids' stockings full of candy and presents and gives bad kids coal, garlic, or a stick. And even if she hasn’t made a mess coming in, La Befana always sweeps the floor before she goes, symbolically sweeping away the problems of the year before. Most Italians leave her a small glass of wine and a plate with a few morsels of food. But beware, if she catches you sneaking a peek at her, she’ll thump you with her broomstick before she leaves. Baby Jesus, the Holiday Angel. Christkind, which translates as "Christ child," was originally promoted as a holiday figure by Martin Luther during the Protestant Reformation in order to discourage the popular figure of Saint Nicholas. Sometimes called Christkindl, the child is usually portrayed as spritely and almost feminine —blonde and cherubic with wings. While Christkind is supposed to be the incarnation of the baby Jesus, the child is often portrayed by girls and young women at Christmas Markets and other events. Christkind is the traditional gift-bringer in much of Central Europe and delivers gifts on the 24 th of December. In Steyr, Austria, a wax statue of Christkind stands in the town church, and the post office answers mountains of letters that children send to the figure. In Austria and parts of Germany it is traditional for kids to wait outside the living room on Christmas Eve; a bell rings to tell them when they can enter to see the decorated tree and the presents that the Christkind has delivered. Gnomes. In Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, a Christmas gnome or elf brings kids holiday gifts. Called a tomte (in Sweden) or a nisse (in Norway and Denmark), this gnome is portrayed as a tiny man, no bigger than three feet tall, with a long white beard, a belted woolen tunic, a conical red hat, and a pet pig. He lives in houses and barns, guarding the home, family, and animals from evil and misfortune. But if he feels insulted, he will plays tricks, steal from the family, and even harm livestock. Traditionally, the tomte brings gifts to the door, and people leave him a bowl of porridge with butter to show their gratitude. In Denmark, he’s often seen without a beard, dressed in red and grey. Norwegians believe he has four fingers, pointed ears, and eyes that reflect light in the dark like a cat's. He’s very strong and despises disrespectful behavior and laziness. In Finland there is a similar character called the Yule goat, which was originally an animal (as its name suggests) but now looks like the same gnome found in neighboring countries. Icelandic Traditions: Ogres, Yule Lads, and Cats. Article continues below advertisement. Across the Atlantic, in Iceland, people celebrate a unique cadre of holiday creatures. According to local tradition, Gryla, a terrible ogress, and her 13 sons, the Yule Lads, come down from the mountain at Christmastime. Gryla is in search of naughty children to boil, and her precocious young trolls are in search of ways to make mischief. But Gryla can only get her paws on naughty kids and can only keep them if they’re unrepentant; kids who realize the error of their ways are allowed to escape. Every evening of the 13 nights of Christmas, from December 23 rd to epiphany, Icelandic kids leave a shoe on their bedroom window, and one of the yuletide lads fills it with sweets and small gifts, if the child has been good, or rotting vegetables, if the child has been bad. Icelandic kids and adults also look out for the Christmas cat—enormous and black, it prowls the country on Christmas Eve and eats anyone who doesn’t receive a new piece of clothing for Christmas, no matter their age. What It Was Really Like to Be a Black Butler in Mid-Century Washington. Lee Daniels's film The Butler has given the world a window into the reality in which the author's family lived. For some, watching Lee Daniels’ The Butler has been an educational experience. For me, it was a trip back to childhood—the days when I was starting to recognize the ways in which privilege and power drove the Beltway, and my own family dynamics within it. As butlers in Washington, D.C., my father, Fletcher H. Muse, Sr., and uncle, George Y. Muse, were two of the “invisible” men who heard and saw the architects of 20th century power at work. “Unc” worked under Eugene Allen, the head butler whose life formed the basis for Lee Daniels’s movie, as a contract butler for state dinners, inaugurations and other large events at the White House from the late 1950s through the first Clinton administration. They both served state dinners, cocktail parties, and soirees at embassies and in some of Washington’s opulent homes. By day, my father worked as an administrative assistant at the Department of Defense, and Unc in the print shop at the Library of Congress. Both men were relieved to no longer be toiling on the railroad. Servitude housed, fed, and clothed our family of seven and provided us with a most interesting lens into the machinations of history being made, distorted and destroyed. At night and on weekends my uncle and father were transformed by a black tuxedo, hand-tied bow tie and practice of protocol. From our remove, it may be easy to imagine the Beltway Butlers as shuffling servants. But these men were consummate professionals, at times knowing more about protocol than those they served. Their work took them both into the bowels of politics and power, as they overheard decisions sealing the fates of their families, their friends, and the future of the country, including the planning of coups, sabotaging of civil rights legislation and the aborting of people’s personal dreams. Often dad and Unc knew what was going to be in the Washington Post, Evening Star or New York Times even before the president. But the job came with a protocol and requirement of discretion that mostly sealed their tongues and prevented them from speaking about what they heard, saw or were asked to do. Through these working-class jobs, they brought the world home to us through books and periodicals we otherwise would not have known about and incredible food that the wealthy considered leftovers: huge tins of leftover crab meat, fresh caught game, and sweet treats with names that we worked diligently to master. At our dinner table, a bottle of Rothschild’s Champagne could be served up next to curry, or a 1957 Dom Perignon paired with collard greens cooked in smoked pig knuckles. My cousin Lydia Muse Clemons still remembers encountering her butler father while on her lunch break one day while walking through Lafayette Park, across from the White House. “My dad was there with his co-workers, waiting to report to work. They had on their white shirts, tuxedo pants and tie (untied around their necks).” Tuxedos were expensive and Georgetown thrift stores were the primary source for their elegant uniforms. “These men, especially my dad, looked so handsome and stately,” Lydia says. In the film, Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker), James Holloway (Lenny Kravitz) and Carter Wilson (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) make the demanding work of servitude look effortless, as was required by the rigors of the job. And the brotherly bond among the men is evident from the kitchen to the card table where they find rare respite from the demands of the day. I felt as though director Lee Daniels, the crew, and the actors came right up in one of those Monday night poker games in our basement, as Dinah Washington’s soul poured from the hi-fi. Dad, Unc, Mr. Lynch, and the other butlers around the table would cut the cards, talk jive, and make use of the same poker faces that were required to navigate their roles as butlers. My father and uncle and their colleagues used to joke about what it would be like to have a “spook” in the White House. Along with jazz, hard bop, and soul piping into the sound system, collard greens would replace asparagus, barbecue sauce Hollandaise, a cure for racism would be found and Africa would be front and center in ways it never had been. The butlers had to navigate not just racial politics but also sexual politics. Along with the normal hazards that come with carving meat with the precision of a surgeon, carrying heavy trays, and synchronizing the removal of plates from the table, these men also were on guard against the advances of white women, whose eyes and hands wandered across borders and boundaries not theirs to claim. As a child, I recall being perplexed when men like Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and nuclear scientist Glenn Seaborg—rather than their wives—called to book parties with dad. My brother Vincent and I wondered if these men did not want their wives talking on the phone with black men. Then again, some of these men also maintained tony pied-à-terres specifically designated for entertaining, unbeknownst to their wives, at places like the Woodner and Watergate Towers. According to stories passed along very late in life by some of the butlers, there were dinner parties held in socially safe houses where men who legislated against debauchery by day deeply engaged in it at night. At intersections like this, butlers really had to render themselves invisible, excusing themselves to cleanup duty, for example. My family struggled with arguments, similar to those seen in the movie, about how their lives were being taken away from them. My mother went ballistic when dad informed her that a Mrs. Marshall, one of the women for whom he worked, had asked him to Miss Daisy her to her summer home in Alabama. Too much of my father’s time was being organized around Mrs. Marshall’s demands. Unc served at the weddings for Lyndon B. Johnson’s daughters Luci Baines and Lynda Bird Johnson, and Richard Nixon’s daughter Tricia. It must have been mind-blowing in 1963, when he navigated a sea of black people who had been invited by President John F. Kennedy to celebrate the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation. While Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. strategically declined the controversial invitation, in the mix were politicians, members of the black leadership, and cultural icons including Urban League Director Whitney Young, Dean of the Black Press corps Simeon Booker, poet Langston Hughes and writer James Baldwin. There also were some powerful black women in attendance including publisher Eunice Johnson and civil rights lawyer Constance Baker Motley who would go on to be appointed a Federal Judge by President Johnson in 1966. But one of the highlights in Unc’s life occurred while serving a luncheon in the early 90s. Over the rims of the crystal wine glasses arose the distinct voice of a black man calling out “Unc.” As he looked up, he saw that one of our childhood friends, Clement Price, was in attendance at the luncheon. Price, then a professor at Rutgers and Director of the Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience gave him the ubiquitous “gimme some skin bro’” as they embraced. My father and uncle were proud to see more blacks begin to attend state dinners and other events at the White House, cocktail parties and embassy soirees. I remember dad coming home so excited about the fact that the Modern Jazz Quartet had played at a cocktail party; being in the moment when Joe Zawinul brought the house down at the Newport Jazz Festival where dad served a series of parties at Oatsie Leiter’s summer home; or passing petit fours at an opening for Lyrical Abstractionist Sam Gilliam. My father was beside himself when he learned what huge sums white folk were paying for a black man’s art. During one of the parties he served at Mrs. Lieter’s Georgetown home, Leontyne Price was in attendance. Price presented my father with a copy of the program from the opening of the Met at Lincoln Center in 1966. Printed on silk, the program notes Price’s performance as Cleopatra and the choreographic debut for Alvin Ailey. It is now a treasured family heirloom. At many venues, along with 25- to 100-dollar tips, bottles of premium spirits also were offered up to butlers like my father and uncle, who were valued for their ability to rescue a potential culinary disaster or recover a breach in protocol. Rich white folk were not serving soul food at these parties. On more than one occasion dad had to rescue a turtle soup, prepare a Beef Wellington or reconstruct a Lobster Newburg because the cook was drunk or simply did not show. Many of the butlers also were master carvers who could turn a watermelon into a basket of fruit or peel the skin back on a turkey, carve the meat into thin slices and replace the skin, making it appear as though the meat wasn’t even carved. My father also had the kind of palate where he could taste something once and replicate it, a brilliant gift. I’ll never forget my first ever experience with curry; he made it for my eleventh birthday. He served it with every condiment imaginable including kumquats and Major Grey Chutney. The bliss of that dish still lingers on my palate. My father leveraged his work in other, more strategic, ways as well, giving his children opportunities that might otherwise have been closed to them. In 1967, my father called in a favor from California Republican Congressman William Mailliard, a friend of Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren. Within six months of the request, my brother Lowell Vincent Muse was appointed as a page at the Supreme Court. But my parents also raised us to question the way black people were treated in our society. Both my parents held that racism was the pathology of white people— and becoming them was not a goal. The narrative on race was super charged in our home: Dad was as staunch an integrationist as Mom was a segregationist. My mother still washes the colored clothes before the whites. During the summer of ‘64, I was the help working for Congressman Millard. My mother was livid; but I just wanted to earn enough money to return to college and graduate. Just as Gaines was caught off guard by his son’s turn towards activism, my father was not prepared for his children’s political fervor. In 1965, I became deeply entrenched in movement politics. As a student at Fisk University in Nashville, epicenter for sit-ins, I combined my scholarship with activism and attended meetings and workshops led by Diane Nash, Reverend Jim Lawson and foot soldiers from SNCC. I wish the film had made it resoundingly clear that political progress on civil rights didn’t come from politicians simply having a change of heart regarding their servants. (Moments in the film such as where Reagan tells Gaines, “You’re just like family” still send me into a tailspin, recalling the patronizing context.) Rather, bold strategists and community organizers, and the activism of ordinary people, are what made that possible. My parents’ troubles were just beginning. A couple of years after graduating from Fisk in 1967, I became deeply involved with Drum and Spear Bookstore founded by SNCC legends including Ralph Featherstone, Charlie Cobb, Courtland Cox and Judy Richardson. I was assigned my own FBI agent, Jim South. South used to follow me from Drum and Spear to my apartment in Adams Morgan in his unmarked car. What I came to appreciate about being escorted to and from work was that I was often carrying thousands of dollars in sales from the store through a neighborhood rife with drug dealing, robberies and assaults. Then my brother Leonard’s name showed up in a 1969 report from the House on Un-American Activities, and I was summoned in 1970 to testify before the Grand Jury. My parents were terrified by the idea of jail and raising my bail. Two agents showed up to question dad about my activities. After I moved to Arizona in late 1970, a white hippie mail man, not in uniform, delivered my diploma and Scrabble set to my parents’ home. The FBI failed to return my books on Marcus Garvey and WEB Dubois, but not my letters from Shirley Graham Dubois, Mrs. Amy Jacques Garvey or Helga Rodgers, the wife of J.A. Rogers. Service work—so vital to the next generation’s success—ultimately took its toll on the men of my family. The protocol and discretion, wearing the masks, and, of course, the working of two jobs came at a high cost: Dickel, Jack Daniel’s and--when he could get it--Georgia Moonshine tortured and consumed my dad. But not before he got to strike his own thunder. In 1981, dissatisfied with the Washington of Ronald Reagan and the continuing prominence of New World Order architect Henry Kissinger, for whom he adamantly refused to serve parties, Dad left DC. He returned to his hometown of Cuthbert, Georgia. In the early 90s, he was elected to his own seat of power, as a commissioner for Randolph County and a board member for the Georgia Preservation Society. There he removed the mask and was able, finally, to speak for himself. He could serve the public, rather than serve those who served the public. For several years Jack Valenti, who left Lyndon Johnson’s White House to become president of the Motion Picture Association of America, hosted an annual film screening and dinner party for the members of the Private Butlers Association and their wives at the MPAA headquarters in DC. I think Valenti and my father would have been most pleased with this film portraying these men who served and witnessed so much history. A Man Believes He’s a ‘Wolf’ in Upcoming Movie from Focus Features Starring Lily-Rose Depp. Up next from Nathalie Biancheri ( Nocturnal ) is the horror movie Wolf , and we’ve learned this week (via Daily Dead) that Focus Features will be releasing the film later this year. Wolf will be released domestically on December 3, 2021 . In the film, “Believing he is a wolf trapped in a human body, Jacob ( George MacKay ) eats, sleeps, and lives like a wolf – much to the shock of his family. “When he’s sent to a clinic, Jacob and his animal-bound peers are forced to undergo increasingly extreme forms of ‘curative’ therapies. However once he meets the mysterious Wildcat ( Lily-Rose Depp ), and as their friendship blossoms into an undeniable infatuation, Jacob is faced with a challenge: will he renounce his true self for love.” Wolf is written and directed by Nathalie Biancheri, produced by Jessie Fisk and Jane Doolan, and co-produced by Mariusz Wlodarski and Agnieszka Wasiak. MacKay and Depp are joined by a talented ensemble including Senan Jennings, Darragh Shannon, Elisa Fionuir, Lola Petticrew, Amy Macken, Fionn O’Shea, Paddy Considine, Karise Yansen and Eileen Walsh . Writer in the horror community since 2008. Owns Eli Roth's prop corpse from Piranha 3D. Has three awesome cats. Still plays with toys. AROUND THE WEB. Related Posts. ‘The Wolf Man’ and the Tragic History of Werewolves in Horror. From ‘The Howling’ to ‘Ginger Snaps’: Ranking 12 of the Best Werewolf Movies! [Full Moon Frights] Jack Nicholson Becomes a Middle-Aged Werewolf in ‘Wolf’ Movies. Netflix’s ‘Fear Street’ Movies Have Been Rated “R” for “Strong Bloody Violence”! Unlike the Goosebumps books, R.L. Stine ‘s Fear Street novels were geared more towards a teen audience, and it looks like the property has done even more growing up over the years. Directed by Leigh Janiak ( Honeymoon ) and based upon the groundbreaking teen horror Fear Street books by Stine, Netflix’s Fear Street Trilogy has officially been rated “R”! Thus far we’ve been provided with ratings for two of the films… Fear Street Part 1: 1994 – “Rated R for strong bloody violence, drug content, language and some sexual content.” Fear Street Part 2: 1978 – “Rated R for bloody horror violence, sexual content, nudity, drug use, and language throughout.” Stine had recently noted, “ Fear Street fans are in for a treat – and some major surprises. Readers know that the book series is rated PG. But the movies are rated R. That means a lot more thrills – and a lot more terror! I have seen Leigh Janiak’s epic trilogy releasing on Netflix in July and I can tell you the scares and the SCREAMS are more than I ever expected.” In the Fear Street trilogy, “In 1994, a group of teenagers discovers that the terrifying events that have haunted their town for generations may all be connected — and that they may be the next targets. Based on R.L. Stine’s best selling horror series, the trilogy follows the nightmare through Shadyside’s sinister history.” Fear Street Part One: 1994 ( July 2 ) – A circle of teenage friends accidentally encounter the ancient evil responsible for a series of brutal murders that have plagued their town for over 300 years. Welcome to Shadyside. KIANA MADEIRA OLIVIA SCOTT WELCH BENJAMIN FLORES JR. JULIA REHWALD FRED HECHINGER ASHLEY ZUKERMAN MAYA HAWKE DARRELL BRITT-GIBSON JORDANA SPIRO JORDYN DiNATALE JEREMY FORD. Fear Street Part Two: 1978 ( July 9 ) – Shadyside, 1978. School’s out for summer and the activities at Camp Nightwing are about to begin. But when another Shadysider is possessed with the urge to kill, the fun in the sun becomes a gruesome fight for survival. SADIE SINK EMILY RUDD RYAN SIMPKINS McCABE SLYE TED SUTHERLAND JORDANA SPIRO GILLIAN JACOBS KIANA MADEIRA BENJAMIN FLORES JR. ASHLEY ZUKERMAN OLIVIA SCOTT WELCH CHIARA AURELIA JORDYN DiNATALE. Fear Street Part Three: 1666 ( July 16 ) – The origins of Sarah Fier’s curse are finally revealed as history comes full circle on a night that changes the lives of Shadysiders forever. KIANA MADEIRA ASHLEY ZUKERMAN GILLIAN JACOBS OLIVIA SCOTT WELCH BENJAMIN FLORES JR. DARRELL BRITT- GIBSON SADIE SINK EMILY RUDD McCABE SLYE JULIA REHWALD FRED HECHINGER JORDANA SPIRO JORDYN DiNATALE. Janiak said in a recent statement, “As a filmmaker making Fear Street , but also just as a movie lover, I was so excited to pay homage to some of the great eras of horror movies. For 1994, Scream stood above all rest — it’s peak ’90s horror and, I think, one of the most brilliant movies ever made, period. Then for 1978, I got to look at the heyday of slasher films — Friday the 13th, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street . For 1666…I found the best inspiration for me lay in the beautiful world made rotten of Terence Malick’s The New World .” Yastrzemski’s Fenway visit brings sweet, bitter homecoming vibes. Giants OF Mike Yastrzemski will play against Red Sox, who his father Carl Yastrzemski starred for. Share this: Even in the most sanguine of times, the Fenway Park experience can be overwhelming. The bricks. The Wall. The Pesky Pole. The Fisk Pole. The knowledge that Babe Ruth trod the turf of this functioning Hall of Fame. That patrons filed into Fenway Park on April 15, 1912 as survivors of the Titanic were still being plucked from the Atlantic. Roll that around your brain for a moment. This is where Ted Williams homered in his final at-bat. Where Tony Conigliaro lay face down in the dirt after that terrible beaning. True history, good, bad and otherwise, carries real weight. Imagine the weight Mike Yastrzemski will carry into the grand old yard tonight. He has been there before, of course. With his grandfather Carl, a god in these environs. With his father, Michael Yastrzemski, talented enough to spend five seasons in organized ball. Mike Yastrzemski, the Giants rookie who is slated to play in the outfield in all three games of this series, tracked like his father. He was in his seventh minor league season when he was called up by San Francisco. In his sixth major league game he clubbed his first home run. He hit another in his 17th game. Since then he’s been tracking like his grandfather when Carl was a rookie. So a scene has been set. But with the sweet, there is some bitter. Mike Sr. was 26 years old and playing in Triple-A when he retired on June 28, 1988. According to a newspaper story about the retirement, Mike said he discussed his decision with his father. “He said he was happy for me,” Mike Sr. said. “He figured I had mediocre ability and did well to make it this far.” Carl told reporters then that his son had back-to-back Achilles tendon injuries. “That’s when he decided to give it up.” Sadly, there is more. Mike Sr. died in September 2004 from complications after hip surgery, as the Red Sox were streaking to their first World Series championship in 86 years. Carl Yastrzemski watched largely out of the limelight. “I still don’t talk about it. It’s just very difficult,” Yastrzemski told Sports Illustrated the following spring. “Life will never be the same for me.” “Mike, in his last few years, had passed himself off as his father and run up thousands of dollars in debt. The IRS and creditors (sought) repayment — the debt include(d) $46,000 in unpaid taxes and tens of thousands in credit card balances — from the elder Yastrzemski who said he had no knowledge of the identity theft by his son, who apparently had fallen on hard times.” According to The Athletic in a story published last month: “After Yaz’ son died, the grandfather got more involved. Newspaper clippings reveal images of Poppy Yaz appearing at batting cages with his grandson, and the old man was quoted as saying how pleased he was when young Mike, a baseball star at St. John’s Prep, put his professional career on hold in order to attend Vanderbilt University. ‘I think the Red Sox drafted him in the 36th round or something like that, but he went on to Vanderbilt, which is great,” said Captain Carl. “So I’m proud of him for that. He turned down the money to stay in school.’” That was then. Now? Last month The Athletic dropped by Fenway Park one day when Carl was on site: It was a simple question: Hey, how about that Mike Yastrzemski kid!? He waited a full eight seconds before answering. “You know, the main thing is, he’s a great kid,” said Poppy Yaz. “He’s worked hard. He always thought he was going to make it and I’m very, very happy for him.” He was asked what it will be like next month — the 17th, 18th and 19th of September — when the Giants are in town and Yaz the Younger plays at Fenway Park for the first time as a big-league player. Another long pause. “To see him come play at Fenway . . . that’ll be something,” Yaz said. “And me . . . playing here for 23 years, and then see my grandson come in and play here. It’ll be emotional, yes. I know how hard he worked, and to see him there, and having them announce the name Yastrzemski, I feel great because of him, how much he wanted it.” The plan is that members of the Yastrzemski clan near and far will travel to for the Wednesday night game, the middle game of the series.