Scott Shephard

There was little wind and partly cloudy skies yesterday morning, which made for ideal flying conditions for my new little drone. I had been wanting to document progress at the Plains Apartment complex on north Highway 81 in Watertown and so that’s where I headed. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. I want to talk a bit about the title of this post.

Only a geeky English or Classics major (like me) would know that the title comes from a book by JD Salinger, who borrowed it from a poem by the ancient Greek poet Sappho. Sappho lived and worked for part of her life on the island of Lesbos. Her poems spoke of love - sometimes between two women. Little of her poetry survives today because, as some believe, it was burned due to its “sapphic”** and sensuous content. Can you say censorship?

Forgive the leap, but JD Salinger is best known for his book Catcher in the Rye, which I read when I was in junior high and which stands as one the best books I ever read as a young person. These days Salinger’s most famous book is itself a victim of censorship, having been targeted by “freedom loving” people who from time to time think the heavy hand of government needs to smash certain “dangerous” types of freedom. Yes, they’re all for freedom as long as it’s their brand.

I don’t think that I have many young readers of this blog, but if I do, here’s some possibly controversial advice: If your local school board has a list of books it want’s to ban, you need to read those books.

* In ancient Greece the “roof beams” had a double, sexual meaning, having something to do with male anatomy.

**Relating to lesbians or lesbianism