This is part 6 of a series of posts exploring the rich historical and literary background to my novel, Nuff Sed: a Novel of Desert Steve.

This chapter, “If Our Ignorance Is Bliss,” begins in 1902 in Coffeyville, Kansas. Steve Ragsdale is now 20 years old, just before he leaves for seminary in Evanston, Illinois.

Historicity and Fiction

The first scene takes place at a regular dance, held every first Saturday of the month. These were common in some of these old towns of the time, where all the people would gather to socialize, drink, and dance as a band played some of the classic and modern tunes. In this scene, we are treated to some interaction between Steve and his future wife, Lydia, as they first began expressing an interest in each other. It also becomes clear that Steve’s interaction with his drunkard uncle has caused him to be a teetotaler and against drinking alcohol of any kind. This will be a theme throughout his life.

The Mazurka tune, “Twilight Thoughts,” was a popular for couples to dance to in 1902. Often dance floors were just packed dirt, watered down and dried, with dried hay spread a top. Some towns, as did Coffeyville during the scene, built “puncheon floors,” which were logs that were split lengthwise and laid flat, creating a rough surface. It became common in early American log cabins, providing a more stable and easier to maintain surface than dirt floors. This is why Lydia says she doesn’t like it for dancing because it’s harder on shoes than dirt.The second scene takes place six months later, with Steve in class at seminary studying the Old Testament. He debates with the professor about whether some scriptural passages should be taken literally or figuratively or symbolically. Steve is frustrated that traditional church doctrine seems to trump serious study of religious texts. Here we see that Steve thinks differently than most people, he can critique his own views, and see things that many other people would not see or do not want to see. This will play out later in his life many times.

Desert Steve’s Quotes

The title of this chapter is derived from Desert Steve’s small booklet titled “Philosophy and Sayings of Desert Steve.” This particular quote originates from a section titled “Steve’s Dictionary,” where the entry for “Ignorance” is found. The complete definition reads, “If our ignorance is bliss, then as fools, we’ll be missed.” In this grammatically distorted sentence, I interpret Steve’s message to be that if we lead our lives blissfully ignorant, we will be perceived as foolish rather than wise individuals when we die.

Other Historical Events

  • Just a year before this scene, on September 6, 1901, President William McKinley was shot by Leon Czolgosz, while he was visiting the Pan-American exposition in New York. He later died from the shooting.
  • Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in upon McKinley’s death, on September 14, 1901. At the time, he was the youngest to ever serve as US president.
  • While Steve is in seminary, the first automobile trip across the US took place between May 23 and July 26, 1903. The trip began in San Francisco and ended in New York.
  • On October 1 of that same year, the first baseball World Series game was played. It consisted of one game, in which the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Americans 7 to 3. Cy Young was on the losing team.

Onward

The next chapter, “A Hundred Million Bellyaching Fools,” picks up two years later, after Steve has finished seminary and returns to his hometown as a preacher.

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