Gene Wolfe at Gumbo Fiction in Chicago
Remember that fantastic event to honor Gene Wolfe this past March with Peter Sagal, Peter Straub, Neil Gaiman and so many other amazing people?
Did you miss it?
Here’s your change to hear Gene Wolfe read at the Galway Arms in Chicago on Thursday, November 15th.
Gene Wolfe! Galway Arms. Chicago.
Don’t kick yourself that you missed this opportunity.
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NPRPeter Sagal: “Simon, Florida Rep. Peter Nehr, he is the latest politician to get caught sending topless photos of himself on the Internet, this has happened from time to time. But Mr. Nehr, unlike others, came up with a really good excuse though, what was it?”
Simon Amstell: “I don’t know! …. What did he do, to, uh”
Peter Sagal: “Why did he do it?”
Simon Amstell: “Why did he do it?”
Peter Sagal: “Why did he do it?”
Simon Amstell: “Why did he send the photos?”
Peter Sagal: “Why did he send the photos?”
Simon Amstell: “Well, people get a bit horny, don’t they?”
Peter Sagal: “Well, they do but that’s not what he said.”
Simon Amstell: “He said…”
Peter Sagal: “that…”
Simon Amstell: “he uh, he was concerned about a rash and he was sending it to a friend uh, who was in some way medical who could possibly help with the rash.”
Peter Sagal: “That’s not a bad excuse but that’s not what he said.”
Simon Amstell: “he said, ‘I am a human being! And just because I hold an office it does not mean that I don’t have sexual organs! It doesn’t mean I don’t have needs!!’ he said, GIVE ME A BREAK PEOPLE!! DO I NOT BLEED?!!!
Mo Rocca: “That was beautiful!!”
To The Unsure Artist
I heard this story by Peter Sagal recently on the Moth Podcast, and thought that other people might appreciate it as well. It’s a story that happened to his friend, Morgan, who at the time was a dramaturge (play editor) in New York City.
When Morgan was a young woman living in New York City, she had trouble—she came from a difficult background, she had trouble finding herself, she was very uncertain of herself. And for some reason she had become obsessed with Mother Teresa. For some reason in her young mind—this was around 1980 or 1981—Mother Teresa was the epitome of a human being, the best kind of human there was. Morgan so much wanted to be like or with Mother Teresa, and one day she found out that Mother Teresa was coming to New York City. Morgan was such a Mother Teresa fan that she found out what hotel Mother Teresa was staying at and decided to meet her.
So there she is in front of the hotel waiting for Mother Teresa and a car pulls up. First, a little row of penguin-like nuns get out and finally comes Mother Teresa. Morgan runs up to Mother Teresa who, even at that time, was an old woman, and says,
Oh Mother Teresa I’m so glad to meet you! The work you do is so wonderful!
And Mother Teresa was very nice and took her hand and listened to her. Morgan said,
The work you do is so important and so wonderful, and I just…I so want to come to Calcutta and do that work with you.
And Mother Teresa kind of shook her head and said,
No, no…you don’t do this work because you think it’s good. You do this work because you so love the people, the poor people of Calcutta with whom I work, that you can’t be away from them. That’s when you come and you do this work.
And Morgan kind of realized that she had been busted a little bit in a nice way and nodded understandably. And Mother Teresa then asked,
Well, what do you do?
And Morgan said,
Well, what I do isn’t important. What I do is I work in a theatre and I help put on plays. I mean what use is that?
And Mother Teresa said,
There are so many different kinds of famine in this world. In my country, there is a famine of the body. In this country, there is a famine of the spirit. Stay here, and feed your people.
