If you’ve never received a note that begins “You have never stopped being brilliant,” let me tell you, I recommend it. The other day, the writer Lynn Phillips sent me note saying “You have never stopped being brilliant, but I’m still haunted by your June 91 Spy piece, `When Disney Ran America,’ and keep wanting to quote from it, refer to it, etc. but can’t find it. You nailed the Imagineering of American life better than anyone before or since. If you can find me a copy, I promise to vote for the presidential candidate of your choice. ” Thanks, Lynn, and I’m sure Wendel Wilkie will be thanking you as well. Lynn, by the way, was once a writer for Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, wrote pieces for The Realist and Nerve.com, and now has out a book with the hilarious title “Self-Loathing for Beginners.” I’m curious to hear if, seventeen years after publication, she thinks the article holds up.
