A huge number of us had to read The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, in high school. I don't know if this is still happening, but in Generation X and much of the Baby Boomer generations, this was a standard novel to have to read in school. Most of us were told the book had been banned in some parts of the country, and even thrown on fires in book burnings, in some cases. So we wanted to actually read it, just to see what the ruckus had been about. First published as a serial in the 1940's, then as a novel in 1951, the novel caused an uproar for the reclusive writer, J.D. Salinger. In Catcher in the Rye, main character Holden Caufield is a teenager struggling with issues many teenagers struggle with. That's a theme that often riles up some people.
In one part he's talking about what seems to be a kid's rhyme, "Catcher in the Rye," which is where the title of the novel seems comes from. It actually comes from an old Scottish poem from 1782, by Robert Burns, "Comin' Thro the Rye." Holden explains his vision of this rhyme as him being an older kid near a big cliff. Little kids are playing in the field, a field of rye (it's a grain, like wheat), and when the kids stray towards the edge of the big cliff, Holden saw himself as the Catcher in the Rye, he would grab them before they fell off the cliff. Catch them before they went over the edge, and guide them back away from the edge.
That's the metaphor I got while reading the book, a person who is kind of detached from the rest of the world, but a sort of unofficial guardian. When someone gets too close to the edge, in life itself, the Catcher in the Rye goes over and guides them away from the edge, and back into the game they were playing. That part of the book struck me, because I, too, wanted to be a "Catcher in the Rye," in that sense. I wanted to save people from falling off the edge, into suicide, or other "cliffs" in life, where people go off the edge.
In the 35 plus years since I read that book high school, I've talked to a couple other people, also people who survived rough and abusive childhoods, who wanted to be "Catchers in the Rye" in life. I came to think that many of the kids grew up with lots of issues from whatever abuse they survived as children, went on to want to do something helpful as adults. To be sure, people drawn to to be "Catchers," in this sense, are pretty fucked up as teens usually, and usually well into adulthood. But I've also found a brutal honesty in these people. And often a drive towards artistic or creative work. We know as young people, that we're fucked up, and there's usually some kind of drive to "straighten our shit out," "get our heads screwed on straight," or whatever phrase you want to use.
I think this is part of why so many people from tough backgrounds are drawn to writing, and the arts in general. In much of artistic and creative work, you can have a positive effect on other people. In writing, music, visual arts, and many other forms of creative work, there's chance to make other people laugh, smile, or just help them cope during a rough time. That's one chance to be "Catcher's in the Rye," in a sense.
The other main way is just being friends with someone. Stepping in when you see someone struggling in a way where you can help. "Hey, you OK? Cause you look like shit right now? What's going on?" Those talks can really bring people back from the edge of the cliff. Sometimes. It can also push people closer to the cliff, depending where their mindset is, and how you go about it. It's always dicey.
I'm a fat, homeless, 55-year-old loser to most of the people who see me. But in the 36 years I've been writing, and doing other creative work, I know my writing has helped at least a few people back away from the cliff. I know this because they've told me so. That's powerful to know. To know your creative work, of some kind, has had that effect. I've also talked personally to a handful of people who were near suicidal, and in a few cases, very close to suicide, possible even homicide. It's dicey, you never know if it's going to work, when trying to talk someone down, "back from the cliff". But once committed, you have to see people as far as you can in that moment.
I've talked to a female friend who was a long time cutter, as she had a blade to her wrist on the other end of the phone call. When we hung up, I knew she was in a somewhat better place, but I didn't know if she'd sink back deep into depression over night. I hung up not knowing if I'd see her again a couple of different times.
I've also talked to a couple people, complete strangers, who were on the verge of potentially committing crimes to me, in one case, as a taxi driver), just to go back to the prison they'd just got out of. They came out to an overwhelming situation, and I turned out to be the person there, in the moment, trying to defuse the situation. We all get into these situations, to some degree, at some point. My cutter friend, who was 18 then, has a successful career now, 20-some years later. We've gone our separate ways, but she's doing well. As for the guys fresh out of prison, they got through the tense spot where I talked to them, and were in a better place when we parted ways. On those occasions where I was the "Catcher in the Rye," things ended well.
But part of the reason I went to an effort in those cases, was because of a time in 1989, when I pro athlete I knew, wanted to talk, because he was struggling. I didn't know him well, but enough to talk to him. I was kind of patronizing, and didn't realize just how down he was. I pretty much blew him off. Maybe I could have made a difference that day, maybe not. But I didn't really try. A year later, still struggling, he flipped out and murdered a young woman he knew. Many of you will figure out who I'm talking about. I'll leave his name out of this. There were lots of other people, over a year's time, who also could have helped him. But I didn't, when the chance presented itself.
That was a hard lesson. So I've tried to do a better job in the years since. He's still in prison for his crime. I was one of many people who might have helped, and I didn't. That failure dug deep, and has changed my actions a lot since.
On the other side of the coin, I've had plenty of my own struggles, and and there have been a lot of people who have helped me, in many ways, along my path, pushing me "back from the cliff." Sometimes we have the chance to be a Catcher in the Rye, and sometimes we need one ourselves. The point? Try to keep people away from the edge of that cliff, when we can, in the ways we can. None of us can help everyone. But each of us can help some people, in some ways, in some situations.
I've learned to try and do the best I can, when I'm drawn into those situations. I've also learned that I can't help everyone, and not to beat myself up, forever, if I can't help someone in some situation. The point is to try, when you can, in the ways you can. Also, accept help when you need it, in the ways that make sense. Don't let people push you into other trouble, but when legit help comes along, use it.
My point in making this the first post in this new blog is to throw the idea out there that artists and creative people, in many cases, are often drawn to be "Catchers in the Rye," in some sense, with their creative work. There's a reason you are drawn to the work you are drawn to, even if everyone else thinks it's stupid. If there's a really strong pull to a project, I've found there's usually a good reason for that, your work will likely have a positive effect, somewhere down the line. You may never know it, though. That's part of the the way things work out, over time. But sometimes, if you do good creative work, someone will tell you that your work had a profound effect on them. And it feels really good to know that, as an artist, writer, or any other kind of creative person. It also makes you realize that possibility in future writing or other creative work.
So there's an idea to think about, especially if you're a creative person, whether you get paid for the work, whether it's really popular, or not. The potential is there.
So that's my nice, sweet, light, thought to start a brand new blog. There's a lot more to come in this blog, stuff like this, and some lighter more entertaining stuff, too, probably. We'll see where this leads.
If you haven't read "Catcher in the Rye," I'd recommend it. Salinger's stories about the Glass family, are great reads, too, better, that The Catcher in the Rye, in my opinion. Those are Nine Stories, Franny and Zooey (good for actors), Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters, and Seymour: An Introduction (EVERY writer should read this). Now go ponder this a bit, then create something cool.
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