Notes on Mametz and Strawberry Fool

I was sitting by my parents’ the pool on an early morning trying to get some responses out to people when I read Ed Fraser’s submission “They Called It Mametz.” I decided to take it on the first read, then I looked at Ed’s credentials. I always try to do that, read the story first, so I won’t be swayed by who the author is. This is impossible when I’ve seen the author a lot of times before, but it often works. When I saw that Ed was a podcaster I was intrigued and listened to the first episode of his The Thirst podcast right then and there. It was a discussion with his friend Rob about predestination. I think I disagreed with their conclusion, but I agreed with their interpretation that in the end it doesn’t really matter, because we don’t know what we are predestined to do.

I asked Ed to narrate the story because he is English. He declined at first, then got Rob to do it, and in the end wanted to do it himself. So that is what we got, although I would love to hear Rob’s version too. Check out their podcast. Rob has a great voice.

I feel like I know Rowan (aka P.D.R.) Lindsay as well as I know any of the authors on the show. I’ve accepted three of her stories for the show. She only sent in one that I didn’t take and that was only because it was too realistic and grim. My friend Jack wrote to me and said don’t do any more stories like “Coming Home.” He was driving while listening and it made him cry so much he had to pull over. Wow, I call that a good story! But I do love a happy story. Strawberry Fool is just perfect, a simple little story that is real, poignant and uplifting. I fear that Rowan will not like my rendition of it though, with my American narration and sad attempt at British accent when the characters speak. Of course she knew the risk when she submitted it. I hope she sends more my way. In the mean time I need to go back to England and learn how to talk that way again. I was only a kid when I lived there.