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Cuckoos & Kool-Aid
Oct. 21st, 2020 11:23 amOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the novel by Ken Kesey, was first published in 1962, the year I graduated from high school. A half dozen years after that, I saw it in the hands of one of the kids at the Syracuse Free School, where I was the Coordinating Teacher.
But I'd never read the book myself, even though I'd known of Kesey and his Merry Pranksters from the Tom Wolfe book, Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, which I had read. And had also seen in the hands of kids at the Free School and at the Henrie Farm where I lived for a couple of summers.
I'd also seen a cinematic rendering of Kesey and the Pranksters in Julie Taymor's Across the Universe, which I'd watched with my grandson. He's a fan of the Beatles and the soundtrack features 34 of their songs in the first-ever authorized use of their music outside of their own productions.
Anyway, having landed several strawberry fields away from where I started (See what I did there?), I heard from the grandson, in one of our nightly texts, that he'd just watched the movie adaptation of One Flew Over with Jack Nicholson and was really impressed with it.
I responded by boring him with insights like those offered above but also said that I'd get the movie and the book and let him know what I thought. Which I'm sure will be of equally little interest to him. But, you know, that's a grandparent's job. To bore the children of our children with acquired wisdom.
And now the book has arrived and I am reading it. I had also ordered Acid Test for, you know, old times sake and that arrived with it. The movie is apparently shipping separately, but that's OK because I'd intended to read the book first.
The story, if you're not familiar with it, takes place in an insane asylum--hence the title--and it is, well, horrific. Not the sort of thing that I usually read to help steady pulse and lower blood pressure for my morning readings.
So, I dunno, maybe I'm gonna have to keep a little Kool-Aid on the night stand to, you know, steady things up a bit.
Just kidding. I got off that bus years ago with no intention of making the return trip.
Because, as the other T. Wolfe said, "You Can't Go Home Again..."
LPK
Dreamwidth
10.21.2020
But I'd never read the book myself, even though I'd known of Kesey and his Merry Pranksters from the Tom Wolfe book, Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, which I had read. And had also seen in the hands of kids at the Free School and at the Henrie Farm where I lived for a couple of summers.
I'd also seen a cinematic rendering of Kesey and the Pranksters in Julie Taymor's Across the Universe, which I'd watched with my grandson. He's a fan of the Beatles and the soundtrack features 34 of their songs in the first-ever authorized use of their music outside of their own productions.
Anyway, having landed several strawberry fields away from where I started (See what I did there?), I heard from the grandson, in one of our nightly texts, that he'd just watched the movie adaptation of One Flew Over with Jack Nicholson and was really impressed with it.
I responded by boring him with insights like those offered above but also said that I'd get the movie and the book and let him know what I thought. Which I'm sure will be of equally little interest to him. But, you know, that's a grandparent's job. To bore the children of our children with acquired wisdom.
And now the book has arrived and I am reading it. I had also ordered Acid Test for, you know, old times sake and that arrived with it. The movie is apparently shipping separately, but that's OK because I'd intended to read the book first.
The story, if you're not familiar with it, takes place in an insane asylum--hence the title--and it is, well, horrific. Not the sort of thing that I usually read to help steady pulse and lower blood pressure for my morning readings.
So, I dunno, maybe I'm gonna have to keep a little Kool-Aid on the night stand to, you know, steady things up a bit.
Just kidding. I got off that bus years ago with no intention of making the return trip.
Because, as the other T. Wolfe said, "You Can't Go Home Again..."
LPK
Dreamwidth
10.21.2020
