My Life In A Species

Origin by Irving Stone. Stone made his living writing novelized biographies of the Giants. Most famously, he wrote The Agony and the Ecstasy and Lust for Life (Mike Angelo and Vince Gogh, respectively), both of which were made into movies with big stars (Chuck Heston and Kirkie D, respectively).

Origin concerns itself with Darwin. Right off the bat, I'll say that Stone might as well have dropped the "novelized", and just written a biography. He had to have done meticulous research, and the dialogue, I'll bet, had to have been lifted straight from journals, letters etc. Stone had an annoying habit of putting dialogue in separate paragraphs, as if he expected great things from even mundane pronouncements. That is: there is no such thing as "Charles answered 'She is a pretty girl'." Rather it would be

Charles answered:

"She is a pretty girl."

That aside, I liked it. I didn't know much about Darwin other than the obvious 2 sentences that sum up his work, and Stone drew a picture of a whole man. In fact, this is like one of those old 50s school books about George Washington, in which the hero may be a little too good to be true. Darwin is given all the most cherished characteristics a human could want. He's brilliant, of course, and persistent, thorough, kind, empathetic, loving, broad minded, generous, loving, compassionate. Was he? Well, why not? We who aspire to such things have to believe they're possible, so why would it be surprising that someone did what we ourselves hope to do? Darwin is given a wonderful family and family life, immediate and extended. I wish that, rather than ending by quoting a ridiculous critic, Stone had ended with a little about Darwin's wife Emma, after Darwin's death.

Maybe the best thing -- and I can't tell if it's the "best thing" about Darwin, or about Stone's writing -- is that Darwin's dedication to his work was so vivid it makes me want to rededicate myself, more seriously, to my work. I guess that makes it a pretty good book.

Meanwhile, the bus winds around through what used to be Aksarben race track (It's now an "erase track", as a typo reminded me -- typo since corrected of course). There is now a complex there - shopping or condo/apartment, I don't know (I never read the local newspaper). There's a grocery store and a bank, as far as I can see. Maybe there are other businesses down the streets and around the corner, but the bus has it's route and all it allows me to see is the grocery store and the bank. Those two businesses could indicate a living community. Or it could be a high-end shopping area. Will I investigate, with the same dedication with which Darwin investigated barnacles? I suggest:

"No."

What the bus route does allow me to see -- and anyone going down Center Street will see it -- is a blatant phallus out front of the whole operation. I guess it's a reminder of the former occupant, as it's embossed with the word "Aksarben" and could only have been inspired by a horse.

I wish Omaha would display more imagination in its symbolic architecture. I mean, this thing by Aksarben isn't even disguised.