life through our Lord Jesus Christ; whornshall change our vile body . . .”; earthrnflung without flourish onto a simplerncasket.rnHistory, since November 22, 1963,rnhas worked its decisive, if leisurely, wayrnwith both men’s reputations.rnThe deification of John F. Kennedyrncommenced at once and enjoyed a prosperousrnrun. Even today, elderly courhersrnlike Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., remain availablernfor a spontaneous hymn of praise tornthose theoretically incomparable dmes,rnso suffused with idealism and hope. Butrn35 years later, the Kennedy myth couldrnsee a good coat of paint. Charming thernpresident may have been; also profane,rnsatiric, vindictive, reckless. We havernbeen learning as much for about tworndecades. Judith Campbell Exner andrnMarilyn Monroe are names as integral tornthe Kennedy legend as Jackie. Indeed,rnhardly anyone who spent much timernaround the Kennedys looks really goodrntoday.rnAmong John Kennedy’s gifts beyondrnthe grave is the inspiration he apparentlyrnprovided a gawking Arkansas teenager.rnBilly Clinton, one day in the WhiternHouse Rose Garden. The impressionablernkid, squeezing his idol’s hand, decided,rngee-whiz, golly, he wanted to bernjust like him. In many ways, he has succeededrnrichly.rnCircumstances are rather differentrnwith that fateful day’s other famous victim,rnC.S. Lewis, who today is more honoredrnand influential than when he wasrnalive. November 1998 brought, in additionrnto the anniversary of Lewis’s death,rnthe centennial of his birth—a great, disjointedrnfestival of adoration.rnA Lewis expert, James Como, in a centennialrnappraisal {Branches to Heaven:rnThe Geniuses of C.S. Lewis), ponders therngigantic display: “four Lewis anthologies,rnone encyclopedic; two indexes . . . twornsequential annotated checklists tornshelves full of secondary sources; onernhandbook, with another forthcoming . . .rnfour major biographies Most of his titlesrnare in print. . . . Societies, institutes,rnand foundations devoted to the study andrnperpetuation of his work now aboundrnworldwide. He is frequentiy visited in cyberspace.rn. .. There are three major uni-rnWILL FUTURE GENERATIONS READ CHRONICLES’!rnPerhaps a better question would be:rn(( Will Chronicles be there for futurerngenerations to read?”rnIf you believe that the answer should be “Yes,” then help us securernthe future »i Chronicles by remembermg us in your will. Whenrnyou next review your will or living trust, ask your attorney to addrna provision making a bequest to:rnThe Rockford Institute.rnYour bequest can be either a fixed dollar amount or a percentagernof your estate.rnFor more information, write or call:rnChristopher CheckrnExecutive Vice PresidentrnThe Rockford Institutern928 North Main StreetrnRockford, Illinois 61103rn(815)964-5811rnversit’ repositories of work by, or relatedrnto, him. Tours are conducted of Lewisrnsites, memorial statues and stones arernbeing carved, a centenary office hasrnbeen established, and a commemorativernstamp has been issued.”rnAnd no one noticed for a while that hernwas gone? Not quite that. The Dallasrnshooting understandably overshadowedrnall else. It failed to conceal for long,rnhowever, the gigantic gap on the theologicalrnskyline left by Lewis’s death.rnLewis, the English dialectician withrnhis paradoxical love of fantasy and his geniusrnfor liquid, limpid prose, is not for everyone.rnI came to him, in fact, throughrnthe vehemence with which a liberalrnfriend rejected him. How could onernwriter inspire such detestation? MerernChristianity showed me: In Lewis,rnmere —meaning simple, unadorned —rnChristianity had a champion asrnformidable in his way as the burnishedrnarmies that Europe once threw againstrnthe Saracens. More respectable, too;rnThe crusaders plundered Constantinoplernand rarely did much that was usefulrnfor the Faith. Lewis’s exertions were constant,rnand utterly, utterly the reverse ofrnself-seeking. He wanted nothing forrnhimself—literally nothing, includingrnmonev. His late-life character was saintly,rnhis good works quiet and meticulous.rnChristianity lately looks to have fallenrnon hard times. Not as hard as they look,rnperhaps. Why would a totally lost worldrnclutch to its bosom the likes of Lewis? Itrnwould not. Such a world would, amongrnother things, drool over every Schlesingerianrnhymn to John Kennedy. Quod eratrndemonstrandum.rn—WiUiam MurchisonrnEPICYCLES:rn• Standing Tall: The Rockford schoolrnboard continues to resist judicial taxation,rnrefusing to submit to a federal magistiate’srnorder to levy a contioversial “tortrnfund” tax to finance the magistrate’srnelaborate desegregation plan. In two separaternrulings in the past year, an Illinoisrnstate appeals court judge ruled that it wasrnillegal to use the tort fund for desegregation.rnThe majorit)’of the members onrnthe school board have declared that theyrnare willing to go to jail rather than violaternstate law. For a tort fund tax to be levied,rnit must be voted on by December 31,rn1998; as we go to press, the federal magistraternhas not (yet) threatened the boardrn8/CHRON:CLESrnrnrn