Terry Pratchett is my Hero (Again)
Finals, at last, are done. And my brain is mush. I haven’t taken back-to-back-to-back-to-back tests since high school, and the tests then weren’t nearly so hard. Anyway, I’m ready to start thinking about anything non-medical for a while.
That’s why I was so upset when I heard that Terry Pratchett was recently diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s.
If you haven’t read Terry, I don’t know I should pity your woeful ignorance or envy the fun and awe you’ll know when you pick up any of Terry’s books. Though he continues to write in many different styles, he’s best known for his satirical fantasies. He is a modern day Cervantes is what Cervantes would have been like had Cervantes actually been funny. Let’s sample just a few of Terry’s bon mots:
“A good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read.”
“I’ll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there’s evidence of any thinking going on inside of it.”
“Words are the litmus paper of the minds. If you find yourself in the power of someone who will use the word ‘commence’ in cold blood, go somewhere else very quickly.”
As an author, Terry has been my hero for a long time. His lucid style and use of fantasy to critique reality have been models of what every fantasist, perhaps every author, should try to achieve. But recently he became my hero again when I read his post about how he is dealing with his diagnosis. I can’t imagine what it is like to be in such a situation, but his fortitude and humor are inspiring.
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