By Chuck Petterson
Okay Geezers, this is just for you. If you were born after
1950 you probably won’t understand.
When I was a youngster growing up in Minnesota, the famous
Florida attractions were Cypress Gardens and Silver Springs. Orlando wasn’t
anything more than a sleepy town surrounded by swamp. Another famous stop near
Miami was (is) Parrott Jungle.
Yes, there are many others, but this isn’t a travelogue. My point is that the stars of our youth have
long faded. I was slow to appreciate this fact of life when I gave title to my
novel, Polar Bear in Parrot Jungle. The title was to imply something completely
in the wrong setting, which is the basis for the story.
I visited Parrot Jungle in the mid-70s with my wife during a
work-vacation trip. I had heard about this attraction when I was a child, and I
figured at least every adult from Boston to Miami also knew of it. Not the
case.
I did not consider how few people are well traveled enough
to have even been in a neighboring state. I failed to appreciate how many
people think “Disney” is a separate country, not part of one of the 50 states.
My reference turned out to be of no significance to anyone I
have talked to, even my snowbird friends. For sure the cover art doesn’t help
any, but that was kind of constrained by having to avoid using an actual
picture of Parrot Jungle.
The lesson I have learned is that subtle and clever has to
be approached carefully when thinking about a book title. YOU may understand the connection, but don’t
count on ANYONE else, not a single soul in the English-speaking world, to make
the connection.
As an aside, I have banged my head against the virtual wall
to come up with another title. I am sure
my ego is fighting with my creativity, preventing a brilliant idea from coming
to mind. I would happily retitle and buy new cover art, if I weren’t so clever.
Charles (Chuck) Petterson lives with his wife of 43 years in
rural Harrison County, Iowa. Following graduation from Roosevelt High School in
Minneapolis, Minnesota, Chuck enlisted in the Navy. He spent seven and a half
years at sea with the Atlantic Submarine Force after two years of training as a
nuclear plant operator. He worked for Westinghouse Electric Corporation as a
nuclear instructor and field engineer for 18 years. Since 1991 Chuck has been
an independent technical writer specializing in proprietary documents for
electric utilities and industrial thermal facilities.
Chuck’s creative outlets include playing saxophone in a
variety of community concert bands and dance bands. His writing efforts include
contributions to a variety of hobby interest publications. Polar Bear in Parrot Jungle is the first
novel length story offered to the public.
1 comment:
Way to go, I needed the explanation. I understood the out of place thing but forgot about the real parrot jungle. Thanks Chuck
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