Socks on the Chandelier, Lives by a Thread – (On Tibor Várady’s book by the same title, and a little about myself)
Socks on the Chandelier, Lives by a Thread – (On Tibor Várady’s book by the same title, and a little about myself)

Summary/Abstract: Back in elementary school, Yours Truly was spoon-fed the dictum that history was an exact discipline, a concatenation of specific dates and, for the most part, intolerant of idle chatter – a set of hard facts to abide by. Entering grammar school, the same Yours Truly was astonished to learn, nay experience on his own skin on the occasion of being flayed while reciting the lesson, that history was really a fairytale. Not historia mind you, as the old folks would call it, nor a narrative, the term we favour these days in the web of subtle and blurred distinctions, but simply a tale, and a fairytale at that. The author of this brief overture, since then freed of the ballast of specific details and taken to wings, perhaps indulges in more than his fair share of rambling, chant and babble, all the while making an honest effort to remember those damned dates of his, a string of milestones glimpsed far below. Without these points of reference, he as a human being, unlike migratory birds, would surely lose his bearings. And he takes pleasure in reading pointed sentences from wise authors of a perceived kindred spirit, for instance from Brian Friel of Ireland, a playwright of fame and name sonorous far and wide, a clear sight and a good shot, wielding a pen instead of a weapon. Friel once observed, point-blank, that people believe they need to know the facts, but what they really want to hear is the story. Not just the gist, but the full length and width of it. And if they do not get it, they will complain.

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