The draft of Chapter 10 – “Descent” posted at the bottom of the right hand column.
And a photo for you:
Hi TTB readers. Dan here.
I know, I know. It’s been a long time, but you’ll be happy to know that we’re turning onto the home stretch, and the story will be finished soon.
Though not much has been written about it, the time capsule Rich left for me to find was FULL of stuff. A couple items have been mentioned. The iPhone (which still worked after being charged!), a copy of the book that I’m putting together (which immediately upon realizing what it was, I put it aside – I’m not interested in any causality loops being my fault), and a number of moleskine journals that Rich filled while in the past.
My plan is to include a lot of the text he wrote, in the book, but it may prove to be too much. If so, these notebooks in their entirety will make up a separate book. There was no copy of that in the time capsule, so I’m not sure if I do that or not, though.
Rich had packed a number of black and blue moleskine notebooks in his “go bag” for when he traveled to the past, since they were of a classic design that wouldn’t attract attention if seen in the 30s or 40s. Rich wrote mostly with Pilot G2 gel pens, though he had to be careful, since they were far too modern to be on display in 1935. The gel ink has held up remarkably well, surprising, even though the notebooks were sealed for decades. The pages written in pencil have faded considerably, so two thumbs up for the Pilot G2!
From the first journal, a page dated August 16, 1933:
Ready to head East again tomorrow. It’s been a nice stay in Flagstaff, but I need to get moving on. Had a little bit of a close call with a guy last evening. Writing some notes, he came up to me, interested in what I was doing, who I’d been talking to and why?
I used my standard “I’m a writer” thing on hm, but he was insistent. “What kind of writer?” He asked. “Novelist? Academic? Journalist?” I explained that I was a journalist who was traveling, researching a book on the U.S.
Wrong answer. He began to ask questions about my views on Communism, Europe, Hitler and Jews. I think he took my reluctance to talk about it to be something other than what it was. I was trying madly to conceive of a cover story, but he saw me being dishonest. Which, of course, I was. Clearly, my ducking out of the diner looked to him like I realized I’d been unmasked as a communist. It’s time to move on. Fortunately, I know I’ll make it to Belton by November, so I’m not TOO worried. But I have to remember that this is a country and a time where the word “NAZI” is NOT yet a dirty word.
The journals chart Rich’s journey from his initial appearance in 1933 (which didn’t occur in Indiana, much to his surprise), his journey across the country, and the story of day to day living in Depression-era Indiana. It’s roughly written, in need of a lot of editing, but a fascinating read, which one way or another, I’ll make available to you.