CNN blows chunks

[Anne Gorman]

Sam Shapiro wrote:
> 
> I am a new subscriber here, and I don't intend to direct my e-mail from
> here on in toward matters concering the identification (or "outing") of
> P., but for those who caught the 7 minute piece CNN did on "The Search
> for Thomas Pynchon" on Thursday night at 10:50 p.m., please respond, as I
> really think this was the 'real thing' and not merely yet another
> Pynchon-sighting hoax....CNN showed a crowd of New Yorkers (a sidewalk
> crowd) walking towards the camera, and assured the viewers that one of the
> folks was indeed Thomas Pynchon...then CNN claimed that in deference to
> P.'s request, they were not going to identify P., but in the same breath,
> CNN coyly suggested that the viewer determine who P. was in the
> crowd...anyway, for those who have studied P.'s high school mug shots,
> the task of picking P. out of the relatively sparse crowd will be
> surprisingly easy---can someone who caught this CNN piece respond and let
> me know if they agree with my pick: the rather tall gentleman with the
> receding gray hairline, gray moustache (I think), smart jacket, black
> shirt, talking to himself (as there is no one apparently walking beside
> him)...this is quite a coup, I believe, and I can't help wondering if CNN
> will really honor their promise to not reveal P.....anyway, from here on
> I will only write about Mason & Dixon (I think)......
> 
> Wondering if I have too much free time, Sam Shapiro

Sam: I, too, have looked at the CNN tape several times and I concur that
Pynchon can only be the tall balding guy that you describe, though I
have to disagree with your characterization of his jacket as "smart."
It's a rather tacky affair, I would say. In fact a friend of mine who
also saw the CNN tape rejected that guy partially out of an inability to
believe that Pynchon would wear such a bad jacket. This friend of mine
believes Pynchon is the guy in the red baseball cap who is shown walking
along the sidewalk. He's the only person in that particular shot; he
passes in front of a parking meter and then disappears behind a pillar
or something. Apparently the New York Magazine photograph of Pynchon
with his son (shot from behind) suggests that he has longish gray hair,
as did the guy in the baseball cap. I haven't seen the NY Mag photo, but
I'm still sticking with the balding guy because the overall shape of his
face as well as his chin, brow, and ears seem to correspond pretty well
with the high school photographs. Anyway, I think it's all over now:
Pynchon's anonymity will soon be a thing of the past.