Time and Chance

Time and Chance, William Arthur, University Editions, Inc, 1997

Loomis is an Everyman, also a loser. Everything he tries goes wrong. He can't sell encyclopedias door-to-door without being thrown out of town. There was also the period of selling blood to survive. His acting career never got going because of a chronic, and painful, shoulder injury. He also has absolutely no luck at getting a date; all the women he approaches are married or seeing somebody. His get-rich-quick idea involves baseball cards; hold them for 20 or 30 years, and they'll be worth big money.

These days, Loomis spends his time as a second-shift copy aide at the local newspaper. He is the one who must type the future weather forecasts into the computer. It usually waits until the most inconvenient moment, like just before deadline, before it crashes. For part of each day, Loomis must monitor the radio room. It's the place where a variety of police and fire radios are all talking at once. Woe unto him who misses the big fire or auto accident that everyone else will be reading about the next day.

Loomis likens working at the newspaper to living in the time of the dinosaurs. The meat-eaters (editors) do battle with the plant-eaters (reporters). Sometimes the plant-eaters win the battle, and, sometimes, the resulting carnage can get pretty bloody. Loomis thinks of himself as a compsognathus, a mini-dinosaur that could probably fit through a doggie door. What's worse is that the meteor that destroyed the dinosaurs has already struck, and its effects are starting to be felt. The meteor is called Television. Newspaper readership is down, and the biggest question each day is what was the news lead on the local TV station.

Loomis has a rather unique group of friends. Harry is a gambler who reads the Racing Form like it was the Bible. John is a teacher enjoying his summer vacation. Michael's presence is all through the book (he and Loomis are brothers), even though the two haven't seen each other in several years.

This book could take place anywhere (it's set in Minnesota), and anyone can put themselves in Loomis's shoes. It�s lighter reading that's interesting and well done, and a person could do a lot worse than read this. It's worth the time.