Well. The nerve of people. I mean, here I am trying hard to be relevant and thought provoking and I'm accused of being frivolous. Was Herman Melville being “silly” when he wrote “Moby Dick”? (Interesting note: The original title was “Moby Richard” and Ishmael was initially named “Lou”) Certainly not. Mr. Melville was a serious, serious man who wrote one of the great American novels (The character of Queequeg was initially an elderly Mrs. Tigglesbury who ran a tea shop called the Piquant Pequod) In his novel Mr. Melville examines the existential questions of what it means to be human (Ahab was a bean farmer from Hoboken), what is obsession (The whale began as a tuna salad sandwich), and the over arching theme of good versus evil (The first draft of the story ended in a Busby Berkley-esque musical number topped by a brace of romantic haikus)
So, the next time you think to yourself, “Hmm. Karl’s being a little fatuous. Even asinine.” Think of Mr. Herman Melville and his fantastic book. And throw away your “word-for-the-day” calendar. “Fatuous” and “Asinine”? Sheesh.
I’m Karl Fogsen. Thanks for reading.
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