It is getting dark already, and I feel tired. I have spent most of my day dealing with my new book. Having brought fifty copies of it from Belgrade, I was eager to distribute as many of them as possible as soon as possible. The list of names came first. It was followed by their postal addresses, which are not easy to find in the information age. Then I had to find padded envelopes of the right size, as well as to write all the addresses on them. In the end, I had to take all the packages to the nearest post office in Zagreb. All this behind me, I feel tired in a pleasant sort of way. A day well spent, as it were. But there is a small blemish to my joy, I must admit. Try as I might, I could not find James Lovelock’s address. He must have had enough of missives of all kinds, including books dedicated to him. In his mid-nineties, he relishes little but peace and quiet. And this is fine with me. My dedication is my own invention, at any rate. Heartfelt as it is, it will get to him by some other means, I bet. Say, magic. Be that as it may, I leave it in Gaia’s able hands.

Addendum I (November 7, 2016)

So far, all my attempts to get in touch with James Lovelock have been in vain. My book dedicated to him is a flop, which is obvious enough after two full years since its publication date, and so it is unlikely to reach him by any means. Although it has also been available for quite a while on my Ca’ Bon Gallery website (www.cabongallery.org), I have not received a single comment about it. Vast as it is, the World Wide Web remains silent to this day. As flops go, this one is beyond any doubt. As well as hope. All things considered, not even Gaia can be of any help in this particular case.

Addendum II (June 10, 2018)

In retrospect, I feel kind of sorry for James Lovelock. Fools of all descriptions must be bombarding him with their love and attention. Now I feel happy not to have managed to get in touch with him. Let him enjoy the rest of his life to the full. He is ninety-eight already, for crying out loud, and he hardly needs any more hoopla in his dotage. Returning to my book, it is a flop for true. The mother of all flops, no less. After four years, there can be no doubt about it. None whatsoever. What is more, climate change and related topics are becoming boring as of late. The world is going the way of the dodo, but nobody wants to hear a word about it. Boring, boring, boring. In a few short years, topics of this ilk will become taboo. Mum is the word, and no kidding.

Addendum III (December 3, 2022)

To my surprise, I just learned that James Lovelock had died on his hundred-and-third birthday on July 26, 2022. And I learned this by searching the World Wide Web for news about him. How could I possibly miss his death? And how could I wait for so many months to search for news about a man so dear to me? Sorry as I am that I have never managed to get in touch with him, as well as regale him with a copy of my book dedicated to him, the voice of Gaia, I now feel outright happy that he is resting in peace. After a long and fruitful life, he surely deserves it. No matter how much younger I happen to be than he was when he passed away, resting in peace attracts me already. And how. Even though I will do my best to keep going as long as necessary to witness this world’s demise, I already look forward to my eventual departure from this mortal coil. Peace, peace, peace…