RIP J.D. Salinger

Okay, so as not to appear hypocritcal, let me begin with this disclaimer:

Laying it on the line, I'm a little miffed that Mr. Salinger had to make The Catcher in the Rye as reclusive as he was.

There. I said it.

I would have loved for him to have given permission to someone to make Catcher into a play. And I'm not much of a play person, but I really think it would have worked. I mean, I fell in love with Holden Caulfield in college when I read the book.

I taught the book to a group of students and did something that would probably make the late Salinger roll over in his burial of choice: I had the students write something in Holden's voice. I wanted to make sure that they understood the character, and that was my way of assessing them, while incorporating creative writing into the mix.

Mr. Salinger, if I offended you in any way by making that assignment, I do apologize.

But, the apologies are not over yet. Another thing I must confess is that I wrote a story with Holden Caulfied in it. Nothing that I would ever try to publish, you understand, but just a writing exercise, basically.

Once again, meaning no disrespect by these actions, I'm just a big fan of Holden Caulfield. And to know that the man who created him is no longer with us, even though he wanted to be out of the public eye most of his life, is kinda sad.

Even though I'm sure he wouldn't have wanted anyone to feel that way.