The commotion that occurred a few hours later on that busy corner of the Loop in downtown Chicago was the first and, in a sense perhaps, the most deliberately literal of such projects eventually to be linked with the name of “Grand Guy” Guy Grand, provoking the wrath of the public press against him, and finally earning him the label, “Eccentric” and again towards the end, “Crackpot.”
IV
“Is Clemence a person?” asked Guy, taking a bit of sweet biscuit now, popping it into his mouth.
Aunt Esther raised her hand to conceal a shaming twitter, and Aunt Agnes feigned impatience.
“Guy, great silly!” said Agnes. “Really!” Though after a moment she softened, to continue:
“Clemence is the new maid! She’s a Catholic girl, Guy—and a very nice one, if I may say so. She’s marrying this Jewish boy, Sol—how they’ll manage I’m sure I don’t know—I talked to them both, I told them that we were Protestants, had always been Protestants, and always would be Protestants—but that I didn’t mind! Not in the least! ‘Freedom of worship and creed!’ I said. It’s always been a principle of my religion. Not so insistent and pushy as some I could name! I didn’t tell them that, of course, but there you are. Well, she wants a honeymoon in Italy, and a visit to the Pope, which I think is terribly sweet—and he wants to go to his place in the East, wherever it is; Israel, isn’t it? Oh, I don’t say it badly. They’re very nice, Guy—both of them as gentle and polite as you please, and ... well, they’ve enough money for one of the trips, you see, but not for both. I wish we could help them, Guy. I think it would be nice if they could go to both of their places, don’t you agree? You remember how much I enjoyed Calvin’s chair in Geneva! Of course it isn’t the same, but it would be sweet. What’s your feeling on it, Guy?”
“But Guy has always been eager to help in such matters,” Esther broke in warmly.
“Thank you, Aunt Esther,” said Guy with soft humility, “I do like to think that the record speaks for itself.”
** ***
Guy Grand had owned a newspaper for a while—one of Boston’s popular dailies, with a circulation of 900,000. When Grand assumed control, there was, at first, no change in the paper’s format, nor in its apparently high journalistic standards, as Grand stayed on in New York on the periphery of the paper’s operations, where he would remain, he said, until he “could get the feel of things.”