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Re: On the Road >> Jack's Valentine

"Now here's where the rumor comes in..."

:) I cannot, of course, vouch for the veracity of rumors about Beat 
poets. I merely brought it up because it seemed to fit with the song. 
You might consider that even if it isn't true of Kerouac in fact, 
that if the rumor is prevalent enough for you and I to be aware of 
it, old Linford might also be aware of it and it might have 
influenced the character in the song, who isn't necessarily Jack 
Kerouac, but a Jack like Kerouac.
I personally don't care if old JK liked boys or not. It certainly 
isn't something I think would be a mark against him if it were true.

  (think about that: Lewis, and
>  then Linford,
>  managed to connect Christmas and Easter into one big
>  image by doing
>  that).

>Is it really correct to say that Linford did this if
>he was actually making referece to Lewis doing it?  Or
>am I misunderstanding you?

Nah. I just meant that by importing the image into the song, Linford 
was using it also.

>Once again, where are you getting this "interest in
>Cassady" as something that "ruled over him?"  Neal
>Cassady was a very attractive, charismatic man.  Who
>wouldn't love to be around him?  But that hardly
>equals an addictive crush, does it?

  Again, it doesn't have to have been true of JK for it to be true of 
the character in the song. Just hearing the rumors would be enough to 
influence the song. I *did*  make it clear that I was making guesses 
(the key words are helping verbs like "could," "might," etc. ) which 
is often all one can get when interpreting. In this case we have 
three texts: the song, the novel, and JK's biography. JK's biography 
is the one we're placing heaviest emphasis on right now, but it 
happens to be the one about which we cannot know as much as we can 
about the song or the book. Guesses, conjecture, are bound to happen. 
I'm not starting a religion with my interpretation, after all.

>This is interesting.  However, I think it would be a
>stretch to extrapolate this much from Jack's
>Valentine.

Okay.

John.


-- 
+++++++++++++++++++++
"Those on their way are almost invisible
to those who are not. A man or woman
recognizes God and starts out. The others
say he, or she, is losing faith."

-Jelaluddin Rumi
+++++++++++++++++++++
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