I recently finished reading Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier, and I thought I’d mention something unique about it that I enjoyed.

For those of you who weren’t forced to read it in high school, Rebecca is the story of a young woman who meets and marries Max de Winter, owner of the fairyland estate Manderley. The part that’s a little bit different is that the protagonist remains unnamed throughout the entire book. She is actually the second Mrs. de Winter, the first having drowned off the coast of the fabled estate.

The book is referred to as a "haunting story of sinister suspense," and although it’s somewhat stagnant in spots (and the frustrating fact that the ‘haunting’ occurs only in a figurative sense), it does have its merits – namely the cleverly allusions to the narrator’s mysterious moniker. In two particular scenes, du Maurier takes pleasure in this curious plot device. The first occurs after our nameless heroine receives a note from Max de Winter:

No signature, and no beginning. But my name was on the envelope, and spelt correctly, an unusual thing.

And later on, as they talk about her family, the protagonist mentions she was named after her father, and Maxim comments:

‘You have a very lovely and unusual name.’
‘My father was a lovely and unusual person.’

The movie, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is a worthy adaptation, with Joan Fontaine as the Second Mrs. De Winter (as she’s referred to in the credits), Laurence Olivier as Max de Winter, and a deliciously wicked Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers – though, as I told my editor, I thought she would have looked a lot more sinister if her hair was curved into horns a la Wolverine.

Which probably explains why I’m not directing movies.

Ian

Normally I leave work at 4 p.m. sharp. On August 14, I left a few minutes later, 4:07 p.m., according to my computer before I shut it down. I figure if I had taken about two minutes longer I would’ve gotten stuck in an elevator.

As I waked to the subway, I noticed the traffic light at Yonge and St. Clair was out. Odd, but not really that strange. I didn’t find out the power was out all over the city (and all over New York, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania) until I reached the subway and noticed a car sitting silently on the tracks. A few people were sitting around in the dull glow of the emergency lightning, and an announcement came on that we were in the midst of a blackout.

I wasn’t alive for the Great Northeast Blackout of 1965, and, having lived through the ’03 version, I can’t say I’m sorry to have missed it. After leaving the subway I spent forty-five minute walking to my apartment building – not that long compared to some, but in thirty-degree temperatures it was far from a pleasant saunter through the city streets.

When I reached my building, I found my superintendent and my neighbors had formulated an ad hoc bbq/patio party. My super, sitting in his car and listening to the radio, pontificated that the blackout was mostly like caused by terrorists, despite my comments that the Great Northeast Blackout of 1965 occurred without the aid of terrorism.

What I didn’t tell him was that some people (mostly those with wild imaginations and way too much free time) thought the blackout of ’65 was the result of UFO activity. Dem you-foes. As I recalled those creative and largely unsubstantiated theories – many of which sounded like the plots of B-movies made in the 1950s – I wondered how long it would take before the current crop of saucerheads climbed on their soapboxes and started barking out cries of cover-up, conspiracy, and, of course, dem you-foes.

As a one-time UFO chaser myself, I thought I’d share with you, Constant Visitor, some of my own theories on what caused the blackout:

1. Martians

The ufologists will like this one (and I’ll hearken a guess that before the week is out, more than a few will be putting their own spins on this one on e-mailing lists and late-night radio programs) because a great many of them consider ufology a science, and this theory o’ mine is actually backed up by some science (some … but not much).

You see, Mars is closer to Earth right now than it has been in 60,000 years, and it won’t be this close again until 2287. Maybe the angry red planet is giving off some angry red vibes (Martian mojo, if you like) and it’s affecting things here on earth.

Of course, this wouldn’t explain why the blackout is only affecting what is really just a small portion of the entire planet. But then the so-called UFO investigators never need that much rope to hang themselves with. There’s usually plenty to go around.

2. CHUDs

Yes, you heard me right. Carnivorous Humanoid Underground Dwellers. The subterranean monsters lurking in the New York City sewer system from the cult horror movie. Spawned by toxic waste, covered up by the government, it has all the makings of a great news story.

The way I see it, a few truant CHUDs were chewing on some powerlines, and vwap! it’s lights out, Big Apple.

A great movie and, in my humble opinion, a perfectly plausible theory.

3. Mennonites

… well, you never know.

Ian