{"id":366,"date":"2011-12-07T10:40:02","date_gmt":"2011-12-06T21:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/?p=366"},"modified":"2011-12-08T15:24:44","modified_gmt":"2011-12-08T02:24:44","slug":"j-p-donleavy%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98the-ginger-man%e2%80%99","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/?p=366","title":{"rendered":"J P Donleavy\u2019s \u2018The Ginger Man\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I believe they are known as \u2018where were you when\u2019 moments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Where were you when President Kennedy was shot?\u00a0 Where were you when Neil Armstrong took that one small step for man?\u00a0 Where were you when Elvis died?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unlike many of my friends, I can\u2019t remember where I was when any of those things happened.\u00a0 I was alive for all of them.\u00a0 I just can\u2019t remember where I was.\u00a0 Or what I was doing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But I can remember \u2013 with surprising detail \u2013 buying some of the books that have turned out to be my perennial favourites.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For example, I can vividly remember buying my first book by J P Donleavy.\u00a0 It was \u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sunday afternoon, five o\u2019clock.\u00a0 A flash of lightening, a rumble of thunder hard on its heels.\u00a0 The first gobstopper drops of the next shower bouncing off already overflowing puddles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just duck into this handy corner shop for some shelter.\u00a0 The tinkling bell waking the proprietor.\u00a0 Good day to you, sir.\u00a0 Not that it\u2019s a good day, that\u2019s for sure.\u00a0 Feigning interest in the merchandise to avoid the rain.\u00a0 No weather for a white man, is it?\u00a0\u00a0 Just a turn of phrase of course.\u00a0 No offence intended.\u00a0 And hopefully none taken.\u00a0 Don\u2019t suppose it rains like this in India.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Apparently not a talker this one.\u00a0 Watching like a hawk from behind his counter.\u00a0 Hands out of sight.\u00a0 Probably with a softball bat at the ready.\u00a0 Just in case.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The rain beginning to ease.\u00a0 Move quickly now and I should make it home before the next downpour.\u00a0 But first I need to show a bit of goodwill.\u00a0 Make a small purchase.\u00a0 At times like this it\u2019s a pity that I don\u2019t smoke.\u00a0 Twenty B&H and a box of your finest matches.\u00a0 But no point in that.\u00a0 A book perhaps?\u00a0 Always find room for another book.\u00a0 The Ginger Man by J P Donleavy.\u00a0 \u2018Comic, dirty and delightful.\u2019\u00a0 V S Naipaul.\u00a0 An opinion to be valued I think, sir.\u00a0 Although I could be mistaken.\u00a0 That bell again, this time tinkling my departure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And even in the rain,<\/p>\n

The world\u2019s a better place<\/p>\n

With a new book<\/p>\n

In your pocket.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I believe they are known as \u2018where were you when\u2019 moments.\u00a0 Where were you when President Kennedy was shot?\u00a0 Where were you when Neil Armstrong took that one small step for man?\u00a0 Where were you when Elvis died?\u00a0 Unlike many … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=366"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":376,"href":"http:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366\/revisions\/376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.kiwistreet.co.nz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}