Babbie

Roy C. Lackey · 19 Mar 2009, 20:38 · from 2009-March.txt.gz

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From: rclackey at stic.net (Roy C. Lackey)
Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:38:55 -0600
Subject: (urth) Babbie
References: <W1932525930220201237419617@webmail39><A54E48EA63964BE7B8A4F6273FA82D1C@eMachinePC><20090319023228.GR21587 at broggs.org><e8e9702e0903181954v922b508h6a52165ea09e76b5 at mail.gmail.com><3B9CA387-1367-4B15-AE3A-E36CA1D5A738 at butcherbaker.org><93EF3F2B27F14A66B216B9275E6EA40A@eMachinePC><DE725E3B-9662-425B-B323-33232EBE8FB4 at butcherbaker.org><BLU120-W53781999F5B133264C324186960 at phx.gbl><4A7B1069-BA31-4A2D-91BA-1B1FFF589143 at butcherbaker.org><C618A0720EEC4E04899A36557FB02EE1@eMachinePC><AE87E4FF-0FB5-4308-80FC-688FE1903C27 at butcherbaker.org>
	<35BFFEB921144B5F84880311EB50E24D@eMachinePC>
Message-ID: <001e01c9a8d2$bd49d1e0$2dd24a0c@rclackey>

James Wynn quoted and wrote:

> >Witz: I really think your theory is interesting, but I think it needs the
> >justification for the Neighbor being a greenbuck.
>
> There are casual hints about this on the level of the one Stuart Hamm
> offered, but I don't think it ever gets any clearer than OBW (HB) pg 272
> "'My name is Horn.' I offered him my hand.
> He took it, and this time I felt his hand and **remembered hard**, and
> seemed to
> be covered with short, stiff hairs. Beyond that I will not say. "
(emphasis
> mine)
>
> What he remembers here is being a greenbuck. It doesn't sound like a human
> or a tree or a spider. [snip]

I said I didn't want to get into this stuff again. I don't and I won't. But
. . . when I read the above quote from OBW, p-272, then compare it with the
wording in my copy, I come away with a different impression:
-----------------------------
    "My name is Horn." I offered him my hand.
    He took it, and this time I felt his hand and remembered it. It was
hard, and seemed to be covered with short, stiff hairs. Beyond that I will
not say.
-------------------------------

What he remembers here is the feel of the Neighbor's hand, not himself being
a greenbuck. The reference to remembering the feel of the Neighbor's hand
"this time"is to their having touched hands five pages earlier (p-267), when
the Neighbor had helped him stand up. He said that he didn't remember how
the Neighbor's hands had felt when he was helped up, but he did take notice
when they shook hands.

This does not ruin your theory, per se, but it does cast more than a little
doubt on the notion that Silkhorn remembers being a greenbuck.

-Roy

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