printed word had made us, and he thought there 
were all sorts of inspiring and freeing ways, or 
opportunities that electronic media would open up. 
But as I say, toward the end he was skeptical 
about whether or not what he prophesized would 
happen. And I would ask him if he’s been paying 
attention since he left us, to what’s been going on, 
and is he still optimistic, or has he become more 
pessimistic. For example, he did think, as Walter 
Ong thinks as well, that there would be a 
restoration of the oral tradition—Ong calls it 
secondary orality—and I look for that all the time 
and don’t really see it. So I’d ask him if he sees it 
and what am I missing? Is there something that