New York School for the Deaf is a real school, founded in 1818, now known as New York State School for the Deaf. Mulcahy teaches at Fanwood Campus in White Plains, built in 1937. The superintendent of the school in 1953 was Mr. Fred Sparks, Jr, who held that position from 1947 to 1961. I know and have used nothing of him but his name.
All Catholic theology and belief described in this novel is based on my own research: I am grateful to Daegaer for her advice, but any errors are mine and not hers.
Shoshanna, editrix supreme, provided incalculable help with the first and following drafts of “Sins and Virtues”. Thank you.
Susan wrote as Iolanthe: you’ll find her M*A*S*H slash stories on her website, iolanthe.netfirms.com/Slashfic.htm. She wrote the first Hawkeye/Mulcahy stories I read: Spin the Bottle, Compassion, the unfinished story Playing the Game, and a trilogy: Caught, Possibilities Escape. (She also wrote as Scarlatti on livejournal, where we first met.)
It was a sentence from the “Caught” trilogy that inspired what became “Sins and Virtues”:
"I see what you mean," I mumbled, half to myself. The problems were definitely coming into focus now. 'Uh... Dad, this is Francis. He followed me home from the war -- can I keep him?' Oh, no, that wouldn't be too awkward....
In an online conversation, I asked Susan’s permission to write the story that happened “after the war” – taking the “Caught” trilogy as backstory. She agreed, and I began to write what later turned into the opening 1500 words (give or take) of “For Ever”. This fragment ended with the sentence “This close, despite the toothpaste and soap, Mulcahy could smell that Hawkeye was still drunk.” There the story paused. I had begun it thinking simply “What’s the worst thing I could do to Hawkeye? Kill off his father. What’s the worst thing I could do to Mulcahy? Defrock him.”) Soon afterwards, I decided I needed to write my own backstory to “For Ever”, and so “An Officer and a Gentleman” and “Out and Far Tonight” got written. (Also, I saw Goodbye, Farewell, Amen and discovered that when Mulcahy had arrived at Hawkeye’s home in Crabapple Cove, he was profoundly deaf – which utterly changed the sketched idea I had for “Such as We”.)
Much grew out of little in writing this sequence, but it was Iolanthe who first made Hawkeye’s and Mulcahy’s feelings for each other erotic to me, and it was Susan who let me exercise my imagination on the story that could happen if Hawkeye and Mulcahy met again after the war, if they had made love in Korea.
Thank you, Susan. I wish we could have met in person: I'm glad we touched via fandom.
Doug Spencer, Susan's partner, wrote in response to a query about donations in Susan's memory:
"I might suggest that any charity local to you which is involved in cancer research, cancer treatment or palliative care would be pleased to receive donations in her memory. Cancer Research UK (formerly The Imperial Cancer Research Campaign and The Cancer Research Campaign), Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Macmillan Nurses are all organisation worth googling for in the UK. Similar organisations exist in the USA and Canada. Any one of a number of local hospices, and a couple of hospice umbrella organisations, would be pleased to have your money."If you're a taxpayer, there may be techniques provided by your government to ensure that your donation reaches its target accompanied by any tax which you might otherwise have had to pay: in the UK, google for "gift aid", or fill out the appropriate sections of the screen if you're donating online. Similar techniques will exist in other jurisdictions.
"If these issues don't enthuse you, there will be others which do. Contribute time, energy and money to causes which you feel are going to help you to honour Susan's memory. Wherever you choose to give it, whatever you choose to give will be gratefully received and faithfully applied."
“Sins and Virtues” is distributed free of charge. You can copy it and pass on copies to anyone you think might like it. Please include this page whenever you copy “Sins and Virtues”, in whole or in part. Remember Susan. I will.
Love,
Jane Carnall
You got here from For Ever: want to head on to Such As We?
Feedback: e-mail me (or comment me if you have a greatestjournal).