Isn’t it interesting that Republicans, far more than Democrats, offer the second spot on the national ticket to pink-cheeked newcomers? In my lifetime, the Republicans have nominated as vice-president Richard Nixon, a national figure, but a mere six years out of the navy; the former senator Henry Cabot Lodge; the obscure New York congressman William …
It was thrilling to see Teddy Kennedy take the stage at the Democratic Convention last night, diminished by his disease and valiant even in his 11th hour. One could not listen to his speech without thinking of his great speech at the Democratic Convention in 1980, which, for my money, ranks with JFK‘s inaugural and …
Cara was deliriously happy last week. Not only did she and her friend Nadia Lindstrom see the Jonas Brothers in concert at Bethel Woods NY (site of the original Woodstock, I have been informed), but Nadia’s dad, our good friend Paul, lined up the opportunity for the girls to `meet and greet’ the pop idols. …
The Montana cabin where Theodore Kaczynski was captured is included in an exhibit on the history of the FBI currently mounted at Washington’s Newseum. In a hand-written letter to the US Court of Appeals which can be viewed at The Smoking Gun, the infamous Unabomber, whose bombs killed three people and injured 23 others, objected …
My daughter Maria (the happy, pretty girl at the left) recently returned from a month in Italy. She had a blast. Here are excerpts from an interim report she sent: We got back late last night from Venezia (Venice) around 11pm. Our hotel was a 5 minutes walk from St. Marks Square. I took lots …
Richard Nixon was never one of my favorite people, but after reading Rick Perlstein’s Nixonland in May and James Rosen’s The Strong Man in June, and seeing the ad guys on Mad Men work on Nixon’s 1960 presidential campaign in July, his malignant spirit has been hovering over my summer. Last night, on the eve …
Congratulations to Cara and her friends in the Summercliff Players on their excellent performance of Les Miserables. It’s amazing that they were able to pull together this complicated show in just five weeks. It was very, very enjoyable, and I was happy to see that Cara seemed to enjoy the experience so much.
Cara was kind enough to let me photograph her at riding lessons on Saturday. I know nothing about riding, but she seems to look better and better each time I see her.
Thanks to my good friend Simon Monroe, the elusive, enigmatic illustrator who did the caricature of me that will henceforth make its home on this site’s blog page. My friend Ken Smith, a man who knows from illustrators, complimented the drawing by saying that it was “Sort of Mencken in spirit, and it sets off …
Those of you expecting to see Paul Newman and Alexis Smith will be disappointed, but I’m not. This week I was lucky to lunch with two of Philadelphia’s finest: Bill Tonelli (with me, left) of South Philly and Temple University, once my colleague at Esquire, and Joe Queenan (with me, right), the pride of St. …