Saturday, September 18, 2021
Friday, April 02, 2021
Winston's memory
So the other night on the Carbondale facebook site the topic of Winston the Bagel man came up, since Winston was an institution in Carbondale and he had a lot of people who loved him and who are severely bummed that he's gone. My main response to it, after I thought about it, was, "somebody ought to write a book about him," which struck a nerve; people agreed.
After more ruminating, I decided that that person was probably me. I can, after all, write books. I memorialized Stone Soup Restaurant in Iowa City and I could do the same for Winston.
The problem is, I didn't really know him all that well. I wasn't in the 2 am drinking crowd, although I think at one time I did buy a bagel and I liked it, but he wouldn't know me if I walked right up to him. I just wasn't around that neighborhood at 2 a m very often.
So, it would have to be a romanticized version, to some degree - fiction - and I'd have to change his name. I couldn't just make up stuff about him that I needed for my plot. Still, I find the whole scene - the bars, down by the woods where the homeless people slept, down on the southeast side, 2 a m, all the students coming out of the bars heading for Winston's little bagel stand.....it's the perfect venue for a novel.
Stay tuned. I need details about him even if I choose to avoid to use his name or I deny any similarity to real people. Of course he'll be a good guy anyway; I don't think any of his heirs will object. It's one of my goals, long term, for the moment.
After more ruminating, I decided that that person was probably me. I can, after all, write books. I memorialized Stone Soup Restaurant in Iowa City and I could do the same for Winston.
The problem is, I didn't really know him all that well. I wasn't in the 2 am drinking crowd, although I think at one time I did buy a bagel and I liked it, but he wouldn't know me if I walked right up to him. I just wasn't around that neighborhood at 2 a m very often.
So, it would have to be a romanticized version, to some degree - fiction - and I'd have to change his name. I couldn't just make up stuff about him that I needed for my plot. Still, I find the whole scene - the bars, down by the woods where the homeless people slept, down on the southeast side, 2 a m, all the students coming out of the bars heading for Winston's little bagel stand.....it's the perfect venue for a novel.
Stay tuned. I need details about him even if I choose to avoid to use his name or I deny any similarity to real people. Of course he'll be a good guy anyway; I don't think any of his heirs will object. It's one of my goals, long term, for the moment.
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