『A Literary Ending - Chapter Seventeen - The Legacy of the Chosen』のカバーアート

A Literary Ending - Chapter Seventeen - The Legacy of the Chosen

A Literary Ending - Chapter Seventeen - The Legacy of the Chosen

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How long a person really stays alive is a question for the ages, and a conundrum for philosophers, poets, and physicists alike. Some leave the Earth early, as did Anne Frank, who was killed at age 15, but whose diary, written while hiding from the Nazis in World War II and published by her father, Otto, has outlasted her physical self by more than 80 years—thus far.Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed more than 600 works, including some of the most famous symphonies and operas ever written, before succumbing to a mysterious illness at the age of 35.The poet Sylvia Plath struggled with clinical depression and took her own life in 1963, while her only novel, The Bell Jar, and a collection of poems published after her suicide at the age of 30, served to break the mask off the 1950s plight of the domestic woman and paved the way for the modern feminist movement.It was these voices, along with Jerry Halpern’s story, written by Laura Hillenbrand, that inspired Jerry’s daughter Jennifer to jump-start her own career in writing after finishing high school and heading off to Bryn Mawr College to study literature and creative writing.Carrying her father’s gene that caused his death, she was well aware that she might perish early, but she was also blessed with other skills of his, newly exhibited during her junior and senior years of high school.As well as being one of the cast of characters in Hillenbrand’s biography, Jennifer’s story, as composed by reporter J. F. Pirro and published in the April 2028 issue of Philadelphia Magazine, expanded her notoriety as a “survivor,” even though she might be destined for a shorter life than most due to Fatal Familial Insomnia, or FFI.The cover of the magazine depicted Jen holding a stick while standing on the Agnes Irwin School playing field, smiling broadly and wearing her symbolic “Unbroken” sweatshirt.Included in the Philly-centric story was a brief subplot about her mother, a former Llanerch Diner waitress; her sister Sharon, a junior and pre-med student at William & Mary; and her father, Jerry Halpern, the subject of the much-anticipated book, A Literary Ending, written by the celebrated author Laura Hillenbrand.Jen, prior to matriculating into Bryn Mawr College, had already found a publisher for her own short work that focused on the lives of famous people who died early, but who had made lasting impacts on the world during their short stay on the planet.According to Jen, then 18, as stated in Pirro’s six-page editorial titled “Survivor, ”there was no guarantee of a long life for any of us, and no time to waste in becoming all one can be during the time omne has left left.Her message was not only inspired by her father’s story as revealed in depth by Hillenbrand, but also by her awareness at the age of 14 of her genetic inheritance of a disease that could most probably, over a period of 18 months, eat away at the control center of her brain.Her mother had contributed greatly to Pirro’s story by revealing personal kindnesses granted by her late husband that were not mentioned in Hillenbrand’s book, including an exchange between Jerry and a male customer at the diner where she had worked as a waitress.As stated in Pirro’s story, a well-dressed man frequently came to breakfast but always had a complaint about something he was served. One day his eggs were runny, and the next day his coffee was cold, and because of that, his tips were always small. Jerry would often see the amount of change left by the man after he walked out the door and, when he noticed it, he’d compassionately add a bill or two to the coins.One day, the man came back in to get the paper he’d left on the table and noticed the bills Jerry had left. He glanced to see if anyone was watching, picked up the bills, and put them in his pocket. Jerry, who had not yet finished eating, left his table, approached the man, and said in a forceful voice, “Put that money back!”The man was surprised that he was caught, but acted as if he’d done nothing wrong. Jerry confronted him again with the facts. “These girls who work here make barely enough to pay their rent, and I’ve seen you short-change them many times. But this time you went too far. After dining here, I’ve frequently added to your tips, such as they are, and have noted that you excuse your pecuniary gratuities by pointing out the flaws of nearly every meal brought to you by your server. My question is, if you don’t like the food and the service, why do you keep coming? “But today you went too far. You stole the money I left for your waitress on your table, and although no one else saw you pick up the bills, I did. So please return them to the table now.”In Pirro’s story, Jerry, who was taller, younger, and more fit than the man he faced, stood his ground against the grudging bully until the man reached into his pocket, returned the crumpled bills to the table, and left the premises. The patrons and ...
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