The change from pulp fiction, to e-book fiction reminds me of the story of Captain Joshua Slocum, a sea Captain in the 1800’s. The merchant fleets around the world were changing from sail power to steam. Many Captains would not make the change, which was complete within six short years. Slocum was one of these. The cry was…”Sailors are not plumbers.”
Captain Slocum was left standing on the dock with no command. He was given an old forty foot Oyster boat, which he sailed alone around the world…it is why he is remembered.
A sail maker who had made a vast fortune making sails for the tall ships, had reinvested his entire wealth in cotton sail stock. His many warehoused lining the harbors of the east Coast, bulged with sails he had no market for…he looked about…”I must change with the times,” he whispered to those who would listen. He could be seen walking the empty docks night after night, mumbling to the changing tides…”Change. I must change.” He spoke to the gulls flying about as the sun rose, and set…”How? Change to what?”.
One day he ran from one saloon to the next, shouting, and waving a crooked finger…”I have it,” he shouted with joy…”Drinks on me.”
The little sail maker was no longer making sails for tall ships of the past…he was now making strong cotton pants for miners…his name was Levi Strause.
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