Scrapbook 87: Puzzle or Not?

[Apple]

There has been a bunch of recent chatter on this forum about constellations, stars, and the zodiac.  Of course there's Fenn's recent announcement: "...under a canopy of stars..."

While hiking in the "lush, forested vegetation of the Rocky Mountains" this past weekend I was reminded of the short SB87.  What do you make of it?  Puzzle?  Some other hint?  Bored, old man rambling?

Nkown gets credit for pointing out the puzzle of this SB to me.

Recall that SB87 shows a polar bear cub nibbling on a man's ankle.  They are supposedly from "K" to "remind everyone that when searching in Canada" to be careful.

What if this is a simple puzzle whose solution is either the constellation Ursa Minor and/or Polaris (North Star), one of its components?

How to get there?

Polar bear >> cues Ursa (Latin for bear)

Bear cub >> cues minor (as in juvenile or child)

So, bear cub >> cues Ursa Minor

Polar bear + "Canada" >> cues North

Ursa Minor + North >> cues Polaris (North Star)

Could it be?  If so, the next question is: why?

If it is so, the navigational star Polaris recalls Fenn's use of navigational star in his misadventure in TTOTC.  "So I applied some mountain man wisdom to the situation. The sun comes up in the east" (Looking for Lewis and Clark p.61).

[edgewalker]

I looked into Alaska for a bit of time. Polar bears are there too. Also the site of Balboa bay (Rocky?) at the foot of the Apollo Mountain. That would tick a lot of boxes in my opinion and is a Western state. Will you brave the cold?

I know, not in the map picture. But he did say he didn't know the map would end at the Canadian border. Parts of Alaska are south of Canada. It is considered part of the Rockies. Not my final idea but I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand.

[nkown]

Ursa Minor is an asterism which contains the north star... polaris.

Polaris is a name and concept used often at the USAFA --> www.usafa.edu/academics/facilities/polaris-hall/

and features at the top of the memorial carillon (bell tower) overlooking the USAFA cemetery, as I've posted elsewhere. When the solution is presented (it will be eventually) the blaze is likely the polaris on the top of the bell tower.

The spin rate of the one of the stars is an interesting 87x that of the sun. Little Bear.... ursa minor. Big clue.

[Apple]

Hi Edgewater, perhaps Fenn's chest was somewhere with polar bears introduced in an unexpected location, like in the TV show Lost: Tunisia and a tropical island.

Hi Nkown, the use of Polaris in the context of the US Air Force Academy outside of Colorado Springs seems to be that of a "moral compass" guiding cadets to the academy's "unchanging core values."  So, a navigational aid of another sort.  It's interesting that the American Legion Memorial at the US Air Force Academy is a bell tower crowned by Polaris.  It's doubly interesting, as you've pointed out, in light of SB172 The Sound of Bells.

SB172 is extremely revealing and is worth contemplating for a few minutes.

SB172 discusses bells, Eric Sloane, and a "bell tower" the Fenn created. A bell can be heard "nine miles distant" and "the far-away sound of a bell could be both "forlorn and soul-stirring."  As an aside, I've read Eric Sloane's The Sound of Bells and I don't agree with Fenn's assessment that the book is "wonderful."

The requisite jokes in the SB include "I always do what [my wife] rings," instead of "says" and a reference to Alexander Graham Bell's first test call over a prototype telephone with "'Come at once, I need you.'"

This SB's concluding thought "because it personally cannot relate its history, my bell tower invites little more than a curious glance" is a direct and purposeful reference to Fenn's meditation in My War for Me: "In another generation or so most of those names will be but an asterisk in the history of a forgotten war, a curiosity to wonder about" (p.76).  Therefore, this SB relates his backyard "bell tower" to a memorial, as discussed in My War for Me and elsewhere in TTOTC: the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the French Indochina War graveyard, his father's grave site, this very treasure hunt, the jars and bells in Dancing with the Millennium, and even his father's principal sign in First Grade.  Memorialization is a central theme of TTOTC.

Note Fenn's use of "asterisk" in the last paragraph's first quote from TTOTC; "asterisk" is typographically and etymologically derived from the Latin and Greek word for "star."  The asterisk is overtly tied to memorials in TTOTC through that statement and this very treasure hunt by discussing and including an actual asterisk at the end of Important Literature.  To further highlight that this treasure hunt is a memorial for Fenn, the author photograph on the TTOTC book jacket has a Native American feathered sun motif in the background--Fenn is a shining star!

Fenn concludes by wondering "if the owners of my home a hundred years from now will appreciate the dichotomy that stands just off the east end of my portal."   Fenn's use of "dichotomy" is extremely clever; he uses the word to mean two different things: home/grave and new/old.  First, in addition to his actual Santa Fe home with this "bell tower," we can ponder if he also means his grave site as part of the "dichotomy;" after all, Fenn's literal home "a hundred years from now" will be wherever he is buried.  Second, the dichotomy refers to the timber "cut with prehistoric stone tools because metal did not come to the pueblo for at least another 65 years" atop which is fastened a much more modern (and metal) "generic cast iron train bell."   As Fenn had intended to commit suicide next to the treasure chest (that is, it would also be his grave site), we can immediately make the connection to the poem's description of the chest's treasure containing "riches new and old."

In summary: Fenn's grave site, the treasure chest, memorials, and bells are all tied to one another.  Memorials are tied to bells, overtly in Dancing with the Millennium and more covertly in this SB.  Memorials are tied to stars, somewhat covertly in TTOTC.

Now think back to Polaris (the North Star), which could be the solution to SB87 if it is indeed a puzzle, and Nkown's US Air Force Academy cemetery bell tower topped by Polaris (the American Legion Memorial).  There's a cemetery (grave site) and a memorial composed of bells and a crowning star (Polaris, the North Star).  Interesting at the very least.  I don't suggest that this is a solution to the poem but rather perhaps a general pointer for searchers.

[edgewalker]

Or perhaps somewhere polar, like Alaska. I think it is in NM but....

There are very interesting Alaska sites, many over 5000 ft.

How is this for one that bends words a little? Forrest says he is the Indiana Jones...played by Harrison Ford. Check out Harriman Fiord in Alaska. It is next to College Fiord but don't take that direction because Forrest didn't go to college. It is at the base of several glaciers (where warm waters halt). It is near Naked Island (bathtub story). The island got its name from a legend of a crazy woman that ran around the island naked. The island is where the Exxon Valdez was towed when it leaked oil in one of the biggest environmental disasters of Alaska (put an X on it). It is SE of Anchorage (end is ever drawing neigh). There is a ghost town called Portage (no paddle up your creek) nearby. It is by Surprise Inlet and Surprise glacier. And that is just what I remember. I know Alaska is a dark horse in this race but...

[pb123]

Hey Jeff,
your mention of f's dichotomy made me think of a few notes I'd recently made:

Red writing in TTOTC.
Red letters: red-letter day.
Religious holidays and other important dates used to be printed in red on calendars.

Fourth of July (Declaration of Independence, birth of nation. Liberty bell. Fireworks. Flag (waving above))
Thanksgiving/Turkey(crest), parade, pilgrims, pioneers (pi[e]).
Christmas/Eve, stable. Birthday. Gifts. Crucifix, cross.
Easter/Bunny ("big ears"), eggs.
New Year - Ring in the New Year. (Out with the old, in with the new.)
The Tooth Fairy (a bunch of fairies dancing around a rock)

The New Year one sounds like it fits. Just a thought.

[pb123]

Oops, meant to say that Memorial Day can be added to that list.

[Apple]

Hi edgewalker, it is amazing how we can create an imaginative "solution" to Fenn's poem pretty much anywhere, even someplace outside the game boundaries.  One possibility: we have a poorly constructed puzzle (because it doesn't have an unambiguous solution).  I favor another possibility, as I've explained elsewhere, that we are expected to extract hidden information in the poem.  It's a poor argument for this latter possibility, but if the former can't produce a confident solution then we need something like the latter to get us there.

pb123, "ring in the new year."  I do like bells!

What do you or others make of SB115 Proper Dental Care?  This one still has me scratching my head.  I'm not proud of it, but my poor best interpretation was that it was about bells.

As you may recall, SB115 is a brief yet rambling and very surreal discussion of toothbrushes. The scrapbook begins with a classic Fenn syntactic ambiguity (which I see as a possible indicator of something of puzzle significance). He then tells us that he doesn't have all his teeth and so keeps his mouth closed, but that it may make him look less friendly. Ironically, the next paragraph describes a childhood friend who, by showing her teeth, looked less friendly. Last we are treated to a surreal discussion of excessively systematic tooth brushing and toothbrush cleaning.

Could this scrapbook describes bells? The title, Proper Dental Care, refers to the absurd story about Fenn's oral hygiene as well as the picture of the bronze cup filled with toothbrushes as it is a "prop"-er, or holder, of toothbrushes, or instruments of dental care. The bronze cup is similar in appearance to the bronze jars and bells found in TTOTC Dancing with the Millennium chapter. In that chapter, Fenn relates his plan to bury jars and bells of his own creation to memorialize himself; some of the jars contain his autobiography and at least on the bells contains this inscription: "If you should ever think of me, a thousand years from now, please ring my bell so I will know" (p.137). A major theme of TTOTC: A Memoir is the transient nature of memory even in the face of durable mementos, such as the French Indochina War graves, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and his father's grave. Fenn creates durable mementos, such as these bells, jars, and treasure chest, in order to attempt to memorialize himself: "look at me, I'm somebody; please don't forget" (p.102) (unfortunately, "of course we forgot"). The importance of bells is indicated (in my conception of indicator errors) through the erroneous synopsis of For Whom the Bell Tolls in Important Literature.

I admit great uncertainty when I suggest that this scrapbook is tied to bells, as it is at best a very tenuous connection. The bronze cup toothbrush holder is best understood as a very lateral reference to the bells of the Dancing with the Millennium. In that chapter, the bronze jars and bells bear a striking resemblance to the bronze cup of the scrapbook; further, the bronze cup also depicts a frog, one of the subjects on those Dancing with the Millennium jars and bells: "frogs are kind of my specialty" (p.139). The toothbrushes are a poor representation of a bell's clapper.

The scrapbook has the puzzle indicator in the form of the relative non sequitur of a pair of pictures--one of Fenn and an identical one in which Brad Pitt's face has been inserted over Fenn's face. A brad (from Brad) is a type of nail. A pit (from Pitt) is related to a cavity or mouth in the dental hygiene context of this scrapbook. Therefore, in the context of the toothbrush holder, the pit (from Pitt) could be the jar and the toothbrushes could be the nails (from Brad). Parallel terminology is used for bells, jars, and the oral cavity; jars and bells contain mouths (from the dental hygiene theme and pointed to by the picture of Pitt >> pit >> mouth), the oral cavity contains tongues/uvulas which are other names for bell clappers, and both mouths and bells are associated with creating sounds. Recall from Dancing with the Millennium that some of the bronze bells have "clankers that I made from large copper nails taken from 17th century Spanish galleons" (p.137); that these "clankers" are "nails" this reinforces the notion that a brad (Brad >> brad >> nail) is an appropriate image of a bell clapper.

Fenn's statement about calling Sonja "on the phone" can be associated with bells: those old phones had bells and they rung. The proposed bell solution to this scrapbook becomes more tenuous thereafter. The "chronological order" of the next paragraph may be a signifier for clocks which can ring a bell regularly; that a clock has a face may poorly explain the "face towel." Finally, "then I can start the rotation over again" is exactly what clocks do and can be a cue to the idiom "ringing in the new year;" the "dish washer" may be poorly explained by the supposed renewal of a new year, as in "ring out the old, ring in the new."

Some additional thoughts that descend further into uncertain territory.  The multiple toothbrushes in the cup may indicate multiple bells. Tenuously, "uppers and lower" may symbolize a tier of bells. The frog on the cup may signify something French, given that frog is a derogatory term for the French. As a tier of bells, or carillon, is derived from the French and Latin for "four" or "four times" or "on four occasions," perhaps the "I brush my teeth four times a day" refers to a tier of bells, or carillon.

Finally, in the comments, there is curious chatter among Goofy_Old_Dog, Forrestfenn, and Dal that makes me again wonder if they are all game insiders / collaborators to some degree.

I'd be very curious to hear what others made of this SB, if anything.  I'd be even more curious to hear from Fenn what all of this means, if anything.

[indigojones]

Jul 21, 2020 14:04:32 GMT -5 Apple said:

Hi Edgewater, perhaps Fenn's chest was somewhere with polar bears introduced in an unexpected location, like in the TV show Lost: Tunisia and a tropical island.

Hi Nkown, the use of Polaris in the context of the US Air Force Academy outside of Colorado Springs seems to be that of a "moral compass" guiding cadets to the academy's "unchanging core values."  So, a navigational aid of another sort.  It's interesting that the American Legion Memorial at the US Air Force Academy is a bell tower crowned by Polaris.  It's doubly interesting, as you've pointed out, in light of SB172 The Sound of Bells.

SB172 is extremely revealing and is worth contemplating for a few minutes.

SB172 discusses bells, Eric Sloane, and a "bell tower" the Fenn created. A bell can be heard "nine miles distant" and "the far-away sound of a bell could be both "forlorn and soul-stirring."  As an aside, I've read Eric Sloane's The Sound of Bells and I don't agree with Fenn's assessment that the book is "wonderful."

The requisite jokes in the SB include "I always do what [my wife] rings," instead of "says" and a reference to Alexander Graham Bell's first test call over a prototype telephone with "'Come at once, I need you.'"

This SB's concluding thought "because it personally cannot relate its history, my bell tower invites little more than a curious glance" is a direct and purposeful reference to Fenn's meditation in My War for Me: "In another generation or so most of those names will be but an asterisk in the history of a forgotten war, a curiosity to wonder about" (p.76).  Therefore, this SB relates his backyard "bell tower" to a memorial, as discussed in My War for Me and elsewhere in TTOTC: the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the French Indochina War graveyard, his father's grave site, this very treasure hunt, the jars and bells in Dancing with the Millennium, and even his father's principal sign in First Grade.  Memorialization is a central theme of TTOTC.

Note Fenn's use of "asterisk" in the last paragraph's first quote from TTOTC; "asterisk" is typographically and etymologically derived from the Latin and Greek word for "star."  The asterisk is overtly tied to memorials in TTOTC through that statement and this very treasure hunt by discussing and including an actual asterisk at the end of Important Literature.  To further highlight that this treasure hunt is a memorial for Fenn, the author photograph on the TTOTC book jacket has a Native American feathered sun motif in the background--Fenn is a shining star!

Fenn concludes by wondering "if the owners of my home a hundred years from now will appreciate the dichotomy that stands just off the east end of my portal."   Fenn's use of "dichotomy" is extremely clever; he uses the word to mean two different things: home/grave and new/old.  First, in addition to his actual Santa Fe home with this "bell tower," we can ponder if he also means his grave site as part of the "dichotomy;" after all, Fenn's literal home "a hundred years from now" will be wherever he is buried.  Second, the dichotomy refers to the timber "cut with prehistoric stone tools because metal did not come to the pueblo for at least another 65 years" atop which is fastened a much more modern (and metal) "generic cast iron train bell."   As Fenn had intended to commit suicide next to the treasure chest (that is, it would also be his grave site), we can immediately make the connection to the poem's description of the chest's treasure containing "riches new and old."

In summary: Fenn's grave site, the treasure chest, memorials, and bells are all tied to one another.  Memorials are tied to bells, overtly in Dancing with the Millennium and more covertly in this SB.  Memorials are tied to stars, somewhat covertly in TTOTC.

Now think back to Polaris (the North Star), which could be the solution to SB87 if it is indeed a puzzle, and Nkown's US Air Force Academy cemetery bell tower topped by Polaris (the American Legion Memorial).  There's a cemetery (grave site) and a memorial composed of bells and a crowning star (Polaris, the North Star).  Interesting at the very least.  I don't suggest that this is a solution to the poem but rather perhaps a general pointer for searchers.

Hi jeff Scrapbook 172 could just be mostly visual. A bell from a steam locomotive (link to a railroad) and the Kiva the post came from which bears a remarkable resemblance to the circular cistern at 'Adelaide' And what of the constellation 'Triangulum' which is mimicked in the three pins around the cistern itself.
In the list of '88 known constellations' Triangulum' is 80 and before it 79 is 'Telescope'. Remember Forrest saying "only a few are in tight focus with a word that is key" Both these numbers relate back to "I was 79 or 80 when I hid the chest" Just a thought.