Pictured here is Dr. Daniel Garret. If you’re at all familiar with him, then it’s because of his contributions to the field of archaeology, or his rivalry with the man known as Maxwell Miracle (formerly Maxwell Grant). He went missing some time in the early ’80s, and this photo is the last one taken of him (I believe the context was he or someone else was showing off vintage camera equipment… I know it was nearly 40 years ago, but there were color photos back then). Due to his dedication to the field, he never really talked to his daughter, my mother. Consequently, she couldn’t really tell me much beyond him being an archaeologist and fighting in WW2 (which may as well be a freebie for people who were alive back then).
Recently, my mother died, meaning I inherited what could generously be referred to as clutter, some of it hers, and some of it inherited from my grandfather. Normally, I’d be the sort of person to maybe look there once and never again, but then I found something rather interesting; a paperblank diary with a blue scarab beetle engraved on the front (specifically the pattern used by the vigilante “The Scarab”, a very commonplace symbol used by people who were politically active in the 50s and 60s, unfortunately commodified by a company in the 70s who started slapping it on everything… including expensive notebooks. Based on his profession, I doubt Garret saw it as anything more than a beetle reminiscent of etchings found in Egypt).
The contents of this diary are a good argument for the use of pencils. Many of the pages were written with ink (probably from a fancy fountain pen I found in a desk) that has since smudged and spread due to water damage from the condensation in the attic. A couple of pages were written in pencil, making them the most easily legible (though not by that much; sorry grandfather, but your handwriting could use a bit of work), and contained unexpected insights into the world of what he calls “Capers” (an archaic term for vigilantes and superhumans coined by newspapers in the 40s), including many claims that are largely unknown to those who study this bizarre area of history.
Mixed in with this are incidents that Garret believes relate to a folkloric figure known as “Fantomah” that he focused his studies on later in life. Of course, some could argue that she was a very early example of a superhero, what with how most stories around her talk about protecting people from invaders, but I’d argue that her system of punishment isn’t really in line with the typical Caper.
Because of this (and, admittedly, a hope to know more about my grandfather), I’ve set about transcribing as many pages as I can. My hope is that his unique insights will garner the interest of historians who I may be able to send the journal so that the rest of the pages can be transcribed. Until then, these are pages from the journal of Dr. Garret.
P.S. From now on, all notes from me will be italicised, and all excerpts from the journal will be normal.
turnnoffyourmind
romaincrisis
dailybridgerton
