Today's Tom Sawyer
She had never been that far outside of the greater St. Louis area before now but Catherine "Cat" Davis, star reporter for KMOX, a TV station which specialized in news and interest stories was looking for someone to cover a developing story in which a fox, once the CEO of a massive corporation, abandoned all he owned to live on the river, like his childhood hero, Tom Sawyer. But in spite of nearly everything that had tried to stop her, the Missouri heat and the sudden rainstorms that develop out of nowhere in the state, "Catty" Davis was determined to give an interesting story to the people watching at home, especially after weeks of research and interviews from people who knew the fox who completely transformed from white-collar multimillionaire to wandering ascetic while she and her crew negotiated up the Mississippi River in a pontoon boat until they saw his outdated raft and came over for a few questions with "Catty" and her cameraman.
"So how long have you been er- living this way?"
The fox with unkempt and dirty overalls spoke, his voice revealing a Southern drawl, which completely belied his past as the CEO of a powerful company. "I been paddlin' 'dis raft for 'bout six years, livin' off the fat of the land as I go. An' no matter what you city folk say, I ain't gonna change one iota," his golden eyes leering at the camera as if to scare or perhaps inspire the viewers to rebel against society's norms.
"And why did you choose to take this very unusual path after years of being a successful CEO?", the cat said, pushing her glasses up the ridge of her muzzle.
The fox looked around, scratched his head, and began to explain his reason for being the modern incarnation of his favorite literary hero "Because... because I wanted to, 'dat's why. You see as a CEO, I made millions but I became mo' an' mo' unhappy wit' 'de money I got. It's hard for me to explain- I could buy anything I wanted but I wa'nt necessarily happy for any reason whatsoever. So I gets 'dis idea to become like my favorite hero, Tom Sawyer and I read 'de books and study Mark Twain and try to live a life 'dat would make Twain, God rest his soul, proud."
She knew Mark Twain, the legend of Missouri literature who pretty much invented the American novel- Catty knew of everything that the author wrote and why he wrote it- or at least she thought she did until she met someone who was so fascinated and obsessed by it, that he would actually become Tom Sawyer in what can only be described as a bizarre homage to an American classic. That's what this fox was doing right now- he was without a doubt, today's Tom Sawyer.
"'Dis river- it's 'de lifeline of 'de American economy, it's 'de lifeline of our culture. The course of 'de river meanders through states, no direction in life going every which way it pleases and trying to make 'de most circuitous route it can find." He paused a few seconds to catch his breath, take some water from a canteen he had brought with him.
"An' you can have a thousand different degrees in books but if you don' know that Twain wanted 'de river, 'de great and mighty Mississippi River to be as much a character in the book as Tom and Huck, you'll never understand his writing. Not in 'de least."
"Some of our viewers at home might be a little confused by that statement. Care to clarify?"
In all honesty, in spite of Mrs. Davis' knowledge of American literature, she had never heard of the river called a character in "Tom Sawyer".
"Wit' pleasure", the fox responded, a gleam in his eye "Look 'round us- birds chirpin', animals bathin- it's all serene an' quiet an' calm but we all know how that can change if you take the wrong meander and go to a differen' place than the one you want. Then, you get all angry with the river but 'de river is only being 'de river, you know. And if 'de river did'nt meander, you know, it would be pretty boring."
"In what way would it be 'boring'?"
"When Twain wrote 'de book, it all had to do with the river twisting its way through the South and 'de society 'dere. An' we all know 'dat he himself piloted a steamboat through the Mississippi, fulfilling a dream he had held since childhood, right?" He turned to Catty, who nodded in silent approval- she knew well the story of Mark Twain. "An' if the river went straight, then 'de whole story of Tom Sawyer would never have been believable. How could a man get lost in a river that doesn't bend or twist or try to make the person on it lost in any way? Maybe I'm being a bit too extreme 'bout 'dis but I want everybody to know that Mark Twain was a visionary, no?"
The cameraman, who was also Catty's husband was capturing all this with determination and confidence and one look at his face could tell that in addition to being focused on keeping the camera working and supported on his muscled shoulder, he was also genuinely concerned about what the fox had to say.
"It's for good reason he became the 'father of American literature. He knew how to make 'de story which transcends economic or racial circumstances to make something big 'dat all people in 'de world could appreciate an' many people would want to be Tom Sawyer, right?"
Sadly, as wonderful as the story was gong, the camera was running out of battery and the interview, on the Mississippi River itself would have to come to a close.
"Any closing remarks?"
"Yeah, love 'de river and love 'de books it made famous because our literature will be what we'll be remembered for", the fox said as he clambered back aboard the raft, never to be seen or heard from again by the camera eye. Truly though, Catty thought, whatever she felt after meeting a fox as unusual as that one is essentially what she thought of the wide-eyed boy in each of us, the adventurer, the warrior. A person who for many of us is dying inside and will never be set free.