Ruth Latta
When Hell Freezes Over
The author claims to see dead people – sometimes those dear to him; other times, strangers or friends of friends. His book is full of strange coincidences, synchronicity, dreams with messages, ominous sensations, though he hasn't always heeded their warnings. The gaudy paperback is badly written, but for some, its awkwardness adds to its authenticity. He's pestering me to review it for a sedate magazine aimed at seniors. On the phone, he insisted that the aged want to know that lost loved ones are safe and well. He dropped the book in my mailbox. Since then, he has emailed me three times. What do I think of the book? When will I review it? It has been a hard week for me, though I didn't tell him that. A friend and fellow-writer died. Lorne never counted on the hereafter but he deserves heaven as much as anyone. He wrote of nature. To him, a bird was not a sign, a harbinger but a fellow creature in love with song. Over the years, several sincere people have told me voluntarily, on separate occasions, their dreams, or sightings, of the dead. I watch Medium; I've read Timothy Findley on bird appearances at the time of deaths of those we love. The day Zoe died, a cardinal appeared in our garden where she used to sit. No cardinal ever came there before. None has come since. My need is as great as anyone else's and my mind is open. After Lorne was laid to rest I checked my email and found a message from the persistent author. I thought: If he says he has dreamed of a thin old man with a plume of white hair, or a young man in World War II RCAF uniform and asks if I know of such a person, then I'll believe! I'll throw my reputation to the winds, and review his book. I clicked on the message: My book will be featured in tomorrow's Suburban Bulletin, he wrote, and I'm being interviewed this week on local TV. In keeping with the momentum of my efforts, when will you be reviewing it? When? When hell freezes over.
Ruth Latta has an M.A. from Queen's University in Ontario and has taught creative writing courses in Ottawa schools, community centres and libraries since 1985. Over the past thirty years, her short fiction, poems, reviews and articles have been published in a variety of literary and general interest publications. Her twelve books, (two on historical subjects, one biography, one on the craft of writing, three short story collections and five novels) have been published by Ottawa-area small presses. She lives in Ottawa with a microbiologist/painter/writer and a cat.
