The life of Fitch was so remarkable and has so much to teach us about the illusory America in which so many of us believe that it would make for a riveting motion picture if the novel could be turned into a film script. It would be lovely if the music could be used in such a motion picture project, but I doubt it will ever come to that. I rather think I'll end up pretty much like my Uncle John (Fitch really was my fifth great grandmother's brother) - broken and impecunious after a life of trying passionately to accomplish something worthwhile. The bitter irony is that Fitch's talent did lie in an eminently practical field, as steam-powered transportation and technology was cutting edge by the early nineteenth century when people like Robert Fulton profited handsomely from Uncle John's ideas. But Fitch was a visionary whose work far exceeded the narrow perceptions and self-interest of his countrymen - including such founding fathers as Franklin and Jefferson! Sadly, John Fitch intentionally -or perhaps accidentally -committed suicide by overdosing on an opium-based pain medication which, in combination with his drinking, proved to be fatal.