Mid-afternoon. The morning was beautiful as it has been the entire time, we saw a large pod of bottlenose dolphin heading south – as the tide was high they were swimming within the swimming markers – very close. At least two were young. One adult even jumped out of the water and slapped his tail (the audience on the beach enjoyed it). Neat to see. After lunch in and while catching up on a recent Newsweek it began to pour buckets. An hour or so later and the rain has stopped by we are socked in with thick low clouds. Linda is supposed to come over and we will go out to supper – she is also supposed to take back the two boxes of beach toys they brought over for the grandkids.
You have not been in the mindset to write today, partly out of the anxiety that you are not capable of writing about two such mythological figures as Merlyn and Tiresias in the same scene. Even to begin the books with Merlyn it was difficult because you are an unknown person who has no connection to England and Merlyn other than your DNA base from Oxford Ancestors, Limited.
True. I even put the information in Braided Dreams (book one) more to re-assure myself than anyone else. I could see a reader thinking, “Who is this American fellow, who does he think he is writing about Merlyn, and a Scottish Merlyn besides?” I mean I asked myself the same question, “Who am I an older American from a little town in Ohio?” At the time I had only been to England once, in the summer of 2001, and it was mostly in London and Canterbury. I loved the literature though and had taught the history through the literature for the lifetime of a profession. The first research paper I ever did was my senior year of high school and the focus was on the RAF in the Battle of Britain. Churchill is still one of my great personal heroes. I hope that would count for something. I received a certificate of genetic authenticity signed by Bryan Sykes, professor of Human Genetics, University of Oxford. He got me started on this a year earlier through his book, Seven Daughters of Eve, which spurred my imagination.
Find the material relating to this in book one and post it here. – Amorella.
** **
Introduction
This is the first of the three-volume work on Merlyn I am willing to share. He is my favorite fictional character. I do not pretend to know who the real man was as I, at sixty-four, hardly know who I am. To begin my own search I requested my DNA tested by Oxford Ancestors, Limited. I have discovered I am fully human. For the record, according to Oxford, my Y chromosome signature is: DYS 19 – 12; DYS 388 – 12; DYS 390 – 23; DYS 391 – 11; DYS 392 – 13; DYS 393 – 13; DYS 389i –11; DYS 389ii-i - 16(30); DYS 425 – 12; and DYS 426 - 12. My MatriLine chart says I am a direct maternal descendent of Tara, a hypothetical woman Professor Brian Sykes, the Director of Oxford Ancestors, refers to in his well known book, Seven Daughters of Eve. Tara lived seventeen thousand years ago in the then forested hills of Tuscany in Northwestern Italy.
A letter from Oxford Ancestors states: “your signature is most likely in Haplogroup 1 which indicates probable Celtic paternal ancestry.” Another such letter from Oxford Ancestors says: “Our analysis shows that it is most likely that you have inherited your Y-chromosome from one of the very early inhabitants of the British Isles, perhaps even from one of the first settlers who arrived 9,000 years ago. There are intriguing genetic connections between Y-chromosomes such as yours and those found in the Iberian Peninsula, especially among the Basques. This hints at the existence of vigorous connections between Ireland, western Britain and the Atlantic seaboard of France and Spain, which archeologists have long suspected. This connection began with the pre-farming hunters and fishermen, and continued with the peoples who built the large stone monuments, the megaliths, which also connect these western sites from Spain to Scotland. You may not have a Viking paternal ancestor but, from what we can tell from your Y-Line results, your ancestors have been in Britain for a great deal longer.”
Therefore, I feel genetically qualified to write a fiction on Merlyn because my ancestors passed through the same regions at the same time he was alive. Our ancestors are among the Dead, but they exert themselves in the Living nevertheless. Otherwise, neither you the reader nor I the author would exist in the same time, place, and earthly setting. Our DNA is witness to the fact that we all belong to the human family. This single fact is the centerpiece of this, the first of three volumes of Merlyn’s braided dreams.
Time is not a factor when we speak of our humanity represents. Merlyn thinks an aspect of our humanity is spiritual and that we sensed our potential ability to survive physical death before we were religious. Written history, even cave drawings and ancient artifacts such as Stonehenge show humanities’ search for something beyond than our physical selves and our descendants. Merlyn, physically dead, but still human, continues his own search in his three plaits of dreams. Upon entering the World of the Dead, hope is all you have. Being dead is beyond belief because it is a fact of life.
With sincere regards,
Richard H. Orndorff
October, 2006
[From Introduction to Braided Dreams]
** **
I had forgotten how I had put it. I felt genetically qualified. I did not realize at the time how much my heart and soul were also into the project. I mean, who would have thought I would attempt such a concept? Not me, and I had no idea the cerebral adventures I would have along the way.
Post. – Amorella.
Great supper at Conch Republic with Linda and Bill – we even ended up sharing a desert of bananas foster. A real heart-stopper, I’m sure. They stopped by between rains and picked up the rest of the goodies they brought over for us originally. Slowly winding down for the last two days and three nights until December.
You have spent time putting the files from May in order and once home you will update the saved material onto the external drive (although much of what is important to the project has been saved on the blog itself).
Let’s try something here and see how it goes:
"This is the Supervisor. Nearby, in Elysium, along the River Styx, the old Greek seer, Tiresias, from the days of Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey, will stumble into a vision and a singular occurrence not hitherto anticipated. Before this, however, he will greet our Merlyn, also a seer, though not quite so old. This kicks their intuitions up a notch, as happenstance is not always what it seems. Upon their greeting, Merlyn senses The Chessboard beneath his naked feet while Tiresias’ fingers quiver slightly as he holds his ancient-looking walking stick. Merlyn recognizes Tiresias immediately as a helpful source, which raises Tiresias’s incredulous nature."
** **
I like it – good lead in.
Perhaps tomorrow we can begin the scene. Post. – Amorella.
No comments:
Post a Comment