I finished reading Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, the subject of Post No. 197, several weeks ago. And then I started to read it again. To be more precise, I keep it with me to read when I'm stuck in traffic. The writing is so good, that it calms me from the frustration that back-to-school traffic can bring. On page 55 today I read:Dr. McCausland found a chance to have what he called "a word" with me, the gist of which was that I might become queer if I did not attempt to balance my theoretical knowledge with the kind of common sense that could be learned from--well, for instance, from himself. He hinted that I might become like Elbert Hubbard if I continued in my present course. Elbert Hubbard was a notoriously queer American who thought that work could be a pleasure.In my first reading of the book, I didn't know who Elbert Hubbard was, but passed over it. Who has time to stop and research everything they don't know?
Today I learned that Elbert Hubbard was an American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher who was best known for an essay he wrote called A Message to Garcia.
The essay celebrates the initiative of a soldier who is assigned and accomplishes a daunting mission. He asks no questions, makes no objections, requests no help, but accomplishes the task. In less than 1,500 words Hubbard captures the essence of what being responsible is all about. The essay counsels the reader to apply this attitude to his own life as an avenue to success.
A Message to Garcia was first published in a magazine in 1899 but was quickly reprinted as a book, which has sold over 40 million copies, and has been made into two movies. It also became a well-known allusion in American popular and business culture until the middle of the twentieth century. "To take a message to Garcia" was supposedly a popular American slang expression for taking on a supremely difficult task.
In a foreword written in 1913, Hubbard said that A Message To Garcia "was written one evening after supper, in a single hour."
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