constant tangential thinking

Of course, since that (admittedly silly) I Write Like deal, I've been suuuuuper thinking about Nabokov. (Really, though I suppose I enjoy any excuse to go into a manic, exploratory k-hole about a writer).

When I was linking you to Nabokov's wiki page the other day, I couldn't help but notice this:

Can you imagine??? Can you imagine being 17 years old and inheriting that estate??? I remember being 17 very vividly and actually possibly my all-consuming goal for myself in life was not to be rich or a writer or to be good at anything for it's own end, but to be those things SO THAT I could own/maintain an estate such as that (In fact, I had narrowed down the plantation I wanted to several candidates in Georgia). To actually own one AT SEVENTEEN.... it makes little heart palpitate just to think about it!! (This is also the precursor for one of my flagship life philosophies about CASTLES, which I'm preparing to post in the next little bit here).

THEN, (tangent now over) can you imagine inheriting that amazing mansion, owning it for one year, and then LOSING it due to a massive and violent social/politcial/economic upheaval such as the Russian Revolution???

Man, tough break, Nabokov.