Indeterminacy 148

When I first moved to the country, David Tudor, M. C. Richards,
the Weinribs, and I all lived in the same small farmhouse. In
order to get some privacy I started taking walks in the woods.
It was August. I began collecting the mushrooms which were
growing more or less everywhere. Then I bought some books and
tried to find out which mushroom was which. Realizing I needed
to get to know someone who knew something about mushrooms, I
called the 4-H Club in New York City. I spoke to a secretary. She
said they’d call me back. They never did. ¶ The following spring,
after reading about the edibility of skunk cabbage in Medsger’s
book on wild plants, I gathered a mess of what I took to be skunk
cabbage, gave some to my mother and father (who were visiting)
to take home, cooked the rest in three waters with a pinch of
soda as Medsger advises, and served it to six people, one of
whom, I remember, was from the Museum of Modern Art. I ate more
than the others did in an attempt to convey my enthusiasm over
edible wild plants. After coffee, poker was proposed. I began
winning heavily. M. C. Richards left the table. After a while
she came back and whispered in my ear, “Do you feel all right?”
I said, “No. I don’t. My throat is burning and I can hardly
breathe.” I told the others to divide my winnings, that I was
folding. I went outside and retched. Vomiting with diarrhea
continued for about two hours. Before I lost my will, I told M.
C. Richards to call Mother and Dad and tell them not to eat the
skunk cabbage. I asked her how the others were. She said,
“They’re not as bad off as you are.” Later, when friends lifted
me off the ground to put a blanket under me, I just said, “Leave
me alone.” Someone called Dr. Zukor. He prescribed milk and
salt. I couldn’t take it. He said, “Get him here immediately.”
They did. He pumped my stomach and gave adrenalin to keep my
heart beating. Among other things, he said, “Fifteen minutes
more and he would have been dead.” ¶ I was removed to the Spring
Valley hospital. There during the night I was kept supplied with
adrenalin and I was thoroughly cleaned out. In the morning I felt
like a million dollars. I rang the bell for the nurse to tell her
I was ready to go. No one came. I read a notice on the wall which
said that unless one left by noon he would be charged for an
extra day. When I saw one of the nurses passing by I yelled
something to the effect that she should get me out since I had
no money for a second day. Shortly the room was filled with
doctors and nurses and in no time at all I was hustled out. ¶ I
called up the 4-H Club and told them what had happened. I
emphasized my determination to go on with wild mushrooms. They
said, “Call Mrs. Clark on South Mountain Drive.” She said, “I
can’t help you. Call Mr. So-and-so.” I called him. He said, “I
can’t help you, but call So-and-so who works in the A&P in
Suffern. He knows someone in Ramsey who knows the mushrooms.”
Eventually, I got the name and telephone number of Guy G.
Nearing. When I called him, he said, “Come over any time you
like. I’m almost always here, and I’ll name your mushrooms for
you.” ¶ I wrote a letter to Medsger telling him skunk cabbage
was poisonous. He never replied. Some time later I read about
the need to distinguish between skunk cabbage and the poisonous
hellebore. They grow at the same time in the same places.
Hellebore has pleated leaves. Skunk cabbage does not.

- John Cage