The following are back page notes, photos, and art from the "The jester Has Lost His Jingle."

The Jester Has Lost His Jingle
In this charming tale, the Jester awakes one morning to find laughter missing from his kingdom and he and his helpmate, Pharley, set off on a quest to find it. They ultimately discover that not only can laughter redeem a weary world, it also can provide the best tonic for anyone facing seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

David Saltzman graduated magna cum laude as an English and art major from Yale University in 1989, receiving the David Chantler Award as "the senior who thoughout his college career best exemplified the qualities of courage and strength of character and high moral purpose."

During his senior year at Yale, david was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. For the next year-and-a-half, he kept a comprehensive journal of his thoughts and drawings while completing "The Jester Has Lost His Jingle" and other stories.

In his journel, David wrote, "The best we can do is live life, enjoy it and know it is meant to be enjoyed -- know how important and special every time...moment...person is. And at the end of the day say, 'I have enjoyed it, I have really lived the moment.' That is all. All is that. Is is such a powerful word. It's not was or will be. It is IS:Is is alive."

David's Note
One day during the summer, I walked into the classroom in a very good mood. I was happy, whistling as I walked. When I arrived into class, I made a silly joke. And nobody laughed. Everybody else was in a horrible mood, caught up in their own lives, their own work, and their own problems.

Now I knew that the joke was not very funny, but nobody even smiled or said hello. They just kept to themselves and looked down at the table. My good mood soon became one of depression, rejection and disappointment. I decided to sit silently like the others, thinking to myself how quickly moods change.

I started drawing and, as usual, did not know what I was creating, letting my hand create on its own accord. It turned out to be a very sad-looking face, humped over, trying hard to carry its own weight. I randonly added triangles to his head and, after staring at what I had just made, realized that it looked like a little jester. I added the words next to it: "The jester has lost his jingle."

And thus, the jester was born.

It is rare for a character of your own creation to come to your aid. Yet, my jester did just that. During the fall of my senior year at yale, I was diagnosed as having Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymphatic system. Upon hearing the news, I went out to a patch of lawn, sat by a tree, and cried.

As I sat there crying, I listened to my sobs, thinking how much they sounded like my laughs. And suddenly, one of the lines I had written during the previous summer popped into my head: "Here I lie, I have a tumor...And you ask me where's my sense of humor?" And that was when my Jester came to me. He literally walked over to me, put his hand on my shoulder and with a concerned look said: "David, how come you're not laughing? Your cries sound just like laughs, so why not laugh instead of cry?" I thought about it for a second and then repeated the question to myself: "How come I'm not laughing?"

So I got up from the pile from dead leaves that surrounded me, wiped my face dry of its tears, and walked off laughing at how silly and scary and wonderful this world of ours is.

He came to help me in my time of need, and my hope is that, if you let him, he will come alive within these pages and help you too.

"I am so glad you liked David's Book. David was the cousin for whom I would easily, happily go two hours of rush hour bumper to bumper to see in a high school play (to his parents' amazement), and more than once too. When he got sick he asked me to teach him how to meditate, and then he said, "I know about this already--so that's what it is." He was a true being of light, and he may still be doing his work in ways (like inspiring you, not only through his book, but through the very energy of his being)."

I feel as though I have a lot in common with David, our Hodgkin's and most of all that we both had characters that came to us to help in our time of need. I wish that I could have known him, for I think that we would have been great friends.

Where ever David is right now, I know he is grateful that his mother and father, Barbara and Joe Saltzman, published his book for him. Right now, Barbara is touring with David's book.

©2001 Diana Kaaha