age
THE CHINA MAIL, TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 1959.
ANNE SHARPLEY
The fourth Mrs. Caldwell picks
EVE
VERY family has its own mythology, Even the constantly re- forming family life of quiet Mr Erskine Cald- well-who is on his fourth family by now.
Sa onto the restless lugn of Caldwell history goes the story of how Mr Caldwell, now Lomion, came to publish his fas! Children's book, nɛt unfores
socn event in the life of a writer who has been described as: "America's No. 1 cracker-barrel iwnographer."
Son
1 happened this way, Long, long ago before Mr Caldwel hari married his present wife Virginia,
her
Andrew fahr, too, was intrried before) asked her to read one of Mr Bakine Caldwelle &torien at bedtime.
a bed-time story
America's 19 states with one or other of his previous wives.
Fortunately, moving house is in habit, sot only to Mr Caldwell inut also to his new wiie Virginia: "Both of our parents were ministers and 11 happened that both belonged to denominations that moved about
lot," he says in a quiet voice, his crew-cut sondy head inclin-
ed forward.
"The longer you live in hours, the smaller it gets," he offered in part explanation.
Yet this qušet man likes have quietness round him. The removal day is hurly burty of clearly not for him,
When Fe
10
works the whole
This presented a difficulty, hoe has to tip-toe and even As Caldwell readers will know, that great American tyrant the very few of his stories cuuki telephone has to be silenced. be described as bedtime read- ing for the under-tens.
But Mrs Caldwell (who was then another gentleman's wife). set to and find one story called Molly Cottontail that might just do. She read it every aught for two months to her son Andrew beftre he went to sleep,
yes
Revalling this, many later to Mr Caldwell when they were married, it seemed a good idea 16 m-write the story ૐ which Mrs Caldwell had 201 cleverly discerned an apiness fa childish cars. Mr Caldwell,
into turned temporarily Carroll, sat down to write a tale about "A
very special rabbit,"
Too old
Mr
little
16 record that It is sad Andrew, is stepson, was by now too old (16) to benefit by this gesture.
"We never give our telephone number to cur friends. They have to write to us." said MIR Caldwell. "But I haven't tought my up to step berking yet."
No method
How does Mr Caldwell work? have no methed at all I don't know how I do anything Every thing is different every time and
where wr are
J
A
The fourth Mrs. Caldwell.
"He keeps it to himself until It's finished. If I go into his rom want so much to look
at that manugrip! that il nearly kills me. But I am superstitious It usuly a different busy and I haven't dared look yet, different city. I just work in the
frang or
says Mrs Caldwell. When the hook is complele it is taken to daylight and sleep when
"executive Kulle" which daris," says Mr Caldwell.
fakes charge and places the
sule manuscript in a
deposit But Mr Caldwell belter.
it's
the
knows box.
Then the Caldwells take
"I can always tell when he is two or three-day trip. going to stort a book. For a
龜
her Caldwell books starts its journey, perhaps to run into eight millions, like God's Little Acre, or to make its author more than a quarter of a million pounds, like Tobacco Road.
Squalid
Israel - The Land Where Men Still
Die In The
TEL AVIV.
IT was twilight. Out of the window of one of the splendidly venerable ex-New York City taxicabs that are used here for long-distance transport, I could see ahead the cluster of scruffy tents that mark the last Israeli Army outposta before the no-man's land of the Gaza Strip.
They had asked me specifically not to arrive at twi- light. That time is strictly reserved for Arab snipers. But I had forgotten the sudden sunset of the semi-tropics. And here I was. At twilight.
An officer in battle-dress came out to meet me. Serious and unsmiling he could have been a twin brother of the late James Dean.
"Carpasky's the name," he said, shaking hands. "I um in command here, Como' into the tent. Safer."
Grim post
Inside I was given a bat tere chair. The officer sat on an upended ammunition crate.
Gaza
by DEE WELLS
Night
The professor is ats expert with a gun... and you can take a taxi to the no man's land where snipers lle in wait, For larnel's two million people the uneasy peace of 1959 · makes life too serious for laughter.
rived Rumanian Jews. And the complaints: the Government's Foak-the-poor new tax schedule. The 130 per cent import tax on
As I left the tent Corpasky's centre. It stretches below Mount any motor vehicle. field radio, with all the Ane tone Carmel around a wide, slow of an aged cock, burst into the Caito Parisienne can-can.
curve of bay,
Half-way up Mount Carmel is One of Carpasky's men was the Technion, Israel's pride-and- leaning against the barrier gate joy science university. reading. I amcaked a look. It was a tattered who-dun-it by Eric Stanley Gardner.
Carpasky looked about his bleak domain protectively-- almost tenderly.
"Don't you
worry about us. Don't say we have flens or low Imbrate. We're all right, Plenty We talked he almost in of time later for fun." monosyllables-of life on a post where the Israeli-Arab armistice is an uneasy peace at best.
The expert
The talk is cheerful, highly intellectual, always serious. No nippancy: Bitle laughter.
also
The same high seriousness is Intell the reflected in
Tel theatre. It is possible in Avly to see Lysistrala or
Shakespearean tragedies. It is not so easy to see anything less
One of the Technion's proud- high-mindedly cultural. "Why," Csi possessions is #L
mild, I asked, "hud no Jewish come- middle-aged engineering protes- dlan emerged in Israel; when 20% who
international there are so many abroad?" on authority
construction materials especially
They seemed baffled, so I went and cement.
an
concrete
This professor, they told me,
students.
ON:-
Chaplin is Jewish. So are the
Marx Brothers, Danny Kaye, and Jack Benny. The best comedians in the world are Jewish, Hore In
He squinted down the road our lethargic nid De Soto would is something of a hero with the take, and waved a hand.
"That's the border. All along I couldn't believe hard-headed Israel there must be a fistful of there. Don't get out of the car, science students would hero- budding tolent." The book will be most prob-
cement-mixer-no He agreed it was a grim and keep your head down if worship
But there was no fistful. There the fold. matter how big an authority on wasn't one, It was explained to ably about the American South,
unything moves in where Mr Caldwell was born 56 post, but added: "There are Don't want any dead journalists the subject. years ago as the son of a Pres-worse."
fow days he doesn't reum to We like to go over the byterian minister-in the South, hear whit 1 ay to him. Then mountains to Reno," says Mrs in which America's greatest What did he do in his he orders some more writing Caldwell, I'm
of conflict since the Civil War is very fond
space time? peper. Sure enough, in about a Heno, Although the Arst time I being resolved, desegregation. couple more days he disappears went was with my parents and after breakfast and the type my mother didn't want dad to
Mr Caldwell stands perhaps writer starts."
stop for gasoline, because it's in the same relationship to the South as Charles Dickens stood such a wicked town,"
to Victorian England. They both fun? deplet a squalld; teeming world
And Mir Caldwell's Lower chikiren by three previous mar-
While Mr Caldwell types in rlages are also ico old. But the roem at the top of the houLE. their loss has been our gala and Mrs Caldwell is in the "execs Molly Cottontail will reach its live British readership next month,
Me Caldwell sits quietly with his thoughts, letting his trim charming, my wife answer the door, answer the phone, answer
It is a bario- the questions. nious, dutifully maintained are
tintil one Jangement.
Tellerts that Mr and Mrs Caldwell have changed their house twice since They meticulously do not 1967 when they married and Mr communlenfe on the subjeel of Caldwell has built homes, he the book being written while it
calculated, in 14 of is yet complete.
No word is passed on the sub- jest of the book meanwhile. The named Caldwells return home to Son Francisco and the manuscript is unlocked. .Mr Caldwell reeds it, makes eer-
sulte"-" ix so because there I do all the book- keeping." Both Caldwells are ceremoniously meticulous people, a virtue that rakes for so much rightness or Wrongness in marriage.
'I daren't'
rections and hands it to his wife for proof-reading.
This is the Inosi Thrilling moment for me, when at last Ï can read I." There follows a companionable, perhaps
arg mentative period when they go over the now book, checking on the meaning of words, in Mr Caldwell's hobby-mass cul- lection of dictionaries, and an
SILES
ANNUAL
See what they say about Giles
"His superb draughtsmanship coupled with a flair for social satire make him a present-day Hogarth.” -Vicky.
"He always manages, to hit the nail on the head — but in such a funny way. He is my favourite cartoonist by far."
-Pat Smythe, "In every one of his cartoons he says 'This Is Your
Life, and goes right to the core of it.”
---Eammon Andrews.
"I can't say — ho just makes me laugh. And any-
one that makes me laugh can have my money.
-Stanley Holloway.
He had no spare time. Well, what did he do for
around here."
Nothing moved
mc.
I was assured it wasn't only
In the West the Jews have It was his longest speech by for that. This professor way Jnr.
different. This
professor had felt left out...second-rate... disliked. They have had to learn another tale,
to laugh at themselves. But in Israel the Jer is at home, Thero is no need for eclf-ridicule.
That "Inughter" and comedy" should be so closely linked with "self-ridicule" is algnificant of how defensively sensitive mhay immigrant
Nothing moved in the field. I kept my head down anyway.
This professor was, in fact, an expert with a gun. During the 1948 fighting this professor held secret courses for the Haganah in a secluded grove of olive trees. It was for this the pro-
such a hero.
Was
A few hours later I was back In cushiest luxury, idly lifting a fessor other gin and tonic with lots Another James Dean with per while telephone to order in-
I was prepared for anything. Israelis are. of ice.
They have had, so far, touch of distinguished little time to develop hops a Israel is like that. So email grey at the temples. you can freeze in the hills of
kind of laughter. Galice in
morning afternoon
the early
too another
Nor, so far, has 'there been
of quaint names, kind hearts He didn't drink, No, ke and hopeless circumstances.
didn't have a girl friend. The Russians, understandably, No, he didn't play cards. Or publish both Mr Caldwell and
gamble. Mr Dickens with enthusiasm, to the slight embarrassment of
What did he do sometimes both authors' native countries.
prepared But I found I was Mr then that was perhaps less They Furthermore treat
for only almost anything, I was Caldwell in the same way as serious than what he usual- and swelter out the Mr Dickens in the matter of ly did?
in the Negev Desert, So far not prepared for the professor much for them to laugh at
lo be a royalties. The
tiny, grandmotherly netther author.
They have been busy. Busy Russlans pay
tastic in contrasts that you can "I drink milk. When I drive straight from the Guza man. She walked by deep welding together 2,000,000 people in an animated discussion (con- who spoke 100 different Strip to a violin concerto in a
crete-or "There is nothing we can do can get it. And I play chess. super-ultra-modern auditorium.
Colt about that," says Air Caldwell, With the old man there.".
automatics) languages, but no language in and almost hidden by building, common. People who as penni- who has a sure knowledge ot
The lack of alze, the tight broad shouldered under- less, bitterly discouraged immni» Russia from being a carve-
gruits flocked desperately pondent there during the war.
Carpaaky was 20. The old squeeze feeling, is troubling So graduates.
is the time contrast. Everywhere
this wedge of land that is only man there was his second-in- you get the impression
Discussion to lernel's main the size of Wales and mainly command. He may have israel in either two minutes or form of recreation. A "party" desert. Where there were no 2,000 years old. Sometimes both mean half a dozen young people houses, no schools, no hospitals, been 30. Not more.
drinking coffee after dinner and no industries, and next to But never anything between.
sinking their teeth in, alternate- farmland, Roman ly cheesecake and sold.com- In Caesarea, once a port, two huge marble statue versation. stare across the excavated coasts) forum. Further up the
Teasing
There is, however, something
But what did he and the old man do on week-end "There passes? are two pirate publishers in
to be done about the free world
Instance: -Japan for
Japan who are printing my hus- They went home to their rood, band's books. We are going to go families. and call on them,"
Caldwell.
says Mrs
that
political
to
no
There were neighbours. There still are. Multions of them-ull enemies.
No gossip. No chit-chat. at Acre, Arab children
Number One seeded topic is'
Yet in 11 short years the (the only healthy looking Arab
Weighty mce 1srael.
economic and wedge of desert has become a children I've over seen)
problems cone fist country. Fiercely proud, Then speelite sub-plots the new intensely dedicated, hardwork- sea-water desulfulsition process, ing, and as tough as Carpasky, the desert Irrigation project, In- It is the most exciting country, I dustrial possibilities, or the shave.rv..visitød, - -- -- celtlement of the recently ar
(London Express Service)."
"To your wives and child with hula-hoops ucress a quar,
whero Crusaders disembarked. MA_job... for the executive suite says quiet Mr Caldwell, ren?".
Only a few minutes away is looking teasingly at--is tiny.
Halla, eficient fourth, bride...
"No, to our familles our highly modernised
Terael's main port and Industrial mothers and fathers.""
London Express Service).
*
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