THE 'CATCHER'

JDS wrote the famous book,'THE CATCHER' and when it began evoking those special feelings in adolescents, both young and old,in school or in college, and teachers and English profs,etc. were urging the reading of this book, I did not read the book UNTIL AFTER I had completed a report on it for a psychology class on Adolescent Psych at UNH, and guess what? I got an a+ on it! My writing of the report was based only on what the jacket or back cover of the book contained or said, and a few quick thumb-throughs of the work. I still have the book and my report among some of my papers and books stored in the shed. "Jerry's" name(and,no, it's not the JERRY OF BEN & JERRY'S for all the ignoramuses that might well confuse the two) cropped up once again when I was teaching in a private and expensive Connecticut school for boys because one youth claimed to know JDS personally,based on the fact that the boy and his family came from Westport and he simply had to read everything that JDS had written,of course. The Director of the school in the meetings we held usually weekly among the faculty, enjoyed related this tidbit about the pupil knowing Salinger,etc. but I suspected,having lived in Cornish at the time JDS came there that,not only did he con the other teachers but also his psychiatrist and the school head on this claim. I concluded that it was a way to bolster his ego and self-esteem for many reasons. While there an article appeared that talked about JDS or 'Jerry" and where he lived, which was certainly not Westport,CT, as the jacket blurbs and photo might lead you to believe,but CORNISH,NEW HAMPSHIRE, where he still lives! The student was surprised to learn that I had live in Cornish and surprised even further than I had not met JDS or made any attempt to meet him when I was there. In fact, I had taken another student on a trip to Cornish to spend time in my Aunt's & Uncle's camp/cottage on the old farm property there,but that is another matter. During the time I employed at the school, I found time to read other works by JDS and works on him by various authors as well as to read a paperback, which I still have with some of the others, of short stories in which the main character of the 'CATCHER' was introduced. Speculation on the publication of any or all of his writings done before his actual death si a complete waste of time. And,if any writings exist, after his death, may never be published or, as they say, 'see the light of day'. I suspect that all of this will become a sort of marvelous plot/conspiracy theory or notion. Anyway, for JDS, TIME IS RUNNING OUT! as it is for all of us,so he may well be speeding up what little literary talent and output he has left and I,personally, hope so!