A Fellow NoZe Brother Drops Me a Line . . .

Probably Not Brother KimoNoZe
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Long-time readers will recognize my occasional references to the NoZe Brotherhood, the underground satirical organization of those Baylor University students blessed with sufficient irony to publish a satirical student newspaper and brave enough to stage satirical events on campus.

Actually, we were just into silliness. But we keep in touch. Some of us are doing well. Others of us serve society's need for a bad example. No one is completely useless, you see. For instance, there is Brother KimoNoZe, who worked as one of the speechwriters for President George H. W. Bush. KimoNoZe surely fits one or the other 'tom' of this dichotomy.

I say all this because Brother KimoNoZe contacted me by email a couple of days ago explaining his absence at a recent NoZe get-together - I didn't make it either - and bringing me up to date on his activities, thereby reminding me of how quickly time passes . . . and the stinging truth of how fragile we are:

I couldn't make the NoZe shindig . . . had to cancel at the last minute for a surprise replacement of a defective heart valve . . . [I] would never have known about it if I hadn't gone for a couple of weeks of strenuous hiking in Utah and was symptomatic . . . . I left Pfizer about six years ago . . . went to work for Mike Milken in Santa Monica, . . .. . [who] devoted himself to medical and educational philanthropy when he got out of jail with a cancer death sentence and wanted to put his billions to work before he checked out, . . . [but] somehow he beat stage 4 and is going strong . . . . [I've] mostly written WSJ op-eds . . . . [T]hree years ago . . . a Japanese bank . . . tantalized me with . . . helping Japanese bankers communicate across cultures . . . . It is . . . the [least exciting]. . . work I've ever done.

I replied in my guise as Brother AgNoZetic:

I now realize that I had been informed - by the very you yourself - of your work for Milken. I see, also, that I should read the WSJ more often - good to know that you're finally writing fiction. I am, of course, relieved to hear that you have a heart - and that it has even been repaired! Sorry to hear that your current work is [so unexciting] . . . . At least, no robot can steal your job of helping Japanese bankers communicate across cultures - that sort of thing must be far too boring for robots to handle.

Brother KimoNoZe replied:

[I've] also written pieces for the NYT and the Washington Post, so I've dabbled as well in fantasy and magical realism.

I can't top that, so I didn't try.