Liddy and Judy

 

The death of G. Gordon Liddy brought back memories of my friend Judy Wax.  I was intrigued and inspired when she became a writer well into middle age.  Her piece about her son, who had gone to India with a cult, was picked up by the New York Times.  I heard her interviewed by Studs Terkel about her new career, including a poem titled The Love Song of G. Gordon Liddy, published in Time magazine. I still have a copy of her book Starting in the Middle.  Her story spoke directly to me.

She was on her way to a booksellers convention in Los Angeles when she was killed in the plane crash at O'Hare.

Roth Revealed

 

There’s a new biography of Philip Roth.  It has been reviewed both in The New Yorker and in the New York Review of Books and in both articles he's depicted as a difficult man (I’m watering  that down). He was left in constant pain from an Army incident which may explain some of it, but certainly not all.  I loved American Pastoral and The Human Stain, so I’m going to remember him for that.

At lunch with my friend Bonnie, I mentioned the Roth articles.  “I met him!”  “I interviewed him and wrote an article about him for The Reader.  He was totally dislikable.”  Here is Bonnie’s column:

https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/a-party-for-philip-roth/Content?oid=881554

You’re going to love reading this.  Yes, it’s about Roth, but it is so much richer.  Bonnie perfectly captures a time when booksellers were at the center of the cultural scene.  When a major author appeared, everyone turned up.  Think literature as a Hollywood premiere. 

Great writers deserve the red carpet.

Stitches in Time

 

My knitting years occurred way before the internet and its knitting site Ravelry which is discussed at length in an article in a recent New Yorker.  It was personal then.  The person I’m thinking about is Sis Franklin who held forth in her shop on Wells Street.

Sis was a very large woman who sat (am I only imagining this?) on a raised chair and conducted audiences with her devoted followers one knitter at a time.  While we waited for the great one, we lamented our mistakes to each other.  Some showed off their prowess.  It was impressive.

My big accomplishment from the Sis Franklin experience was a black mohair sweater.  It was gorgeous.  To start, the wool was expensive, then I paid to have it lined (mohair is very picky) and assembled.  You’re probably thinking I could have bought something just as good for the money I spent, but you would be wrong.  It was my triumph.  

Funny how life is. The sweater was discarded sometime that I don’t even remember. But I still cling to a gorgeous mohair coat sweater than I bought in Norway many years ago. 

Today looks like a good day to find it in the closet.

Black and White Together

 

Evanston passed a law offering reparations to African American residents who can prove they, or their ancestors,  have a history of living in the suburb.  This brought back memories both happy and poignant.  Memories of black and white in the 1950’s while attending Northwestern.

We lived at Orrington House.  It was called a “foreign student home.”  It really was several black girls from Chicago who had obtained music scholarships.  And, a few white girls like me who applied too late to obtain housing in a dorm.

I didn’t know what awaited me at college, but I never imagined anything like this. It was magic.  The music girls were so talented.  Every night a jam session could erupt.

When we attempted to go out together for a coffee or a meal, Evanston was unrelenting.  “Sorry, we can’t seat you.”  “We are all full.”  “What kind of a group are you anyway.”  The saddest time was when we showed up for a reservation at the Empire Room in the Palmer House.  We had pooled our money to celebrate a birthday.  Even in Chicago, we were turned away. 

The law in Evanston passed easily.  The city is being hailed as a model to be admired.

 

The Cruelty of Leadership

 

Rebecca Traister is a journalist who I have found to be particularly insightful.  I listened to her last night as a guest on The Ezra Klein Show podcast.  Klein is most recently with The New York Times.  The immediate subject was the career, and now the what appears to be the fall, of Andrew Cuomo.

I was one of those millions caught up last year in watching Cuomo's daily TV appearances as he seemed to be exhibiting great leadership handling the startling covid crisis in New York.  Bill kept warning me about him.  At the time, his warnings seemed besides the point.

What made this discussion extraordinary was when it branched out to talk about toxic white male leadership in general, including observations about Trump, Harvey Weinstein, Steve Jobs and Hillary Clinton's campaign to survive in it.

It ended with a plea: Does it have to be this way?

A New Favorite

 

My new favorite podcast (sorry, Ben) is Stay Tuned with Preet.  That’s Preet Bharara, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.  First asked to stay by Trump and then fired, he is now a frequent contributor on CNN.

On his podcast, he is engaging, funny, and direct.  He is an excellent interviewer. From long experience, he knows how to ask penetrating questions and shares his opinions.  Podcasts are where the people you see for a minute or two on the news get to talk in long form revealing their ideas and personalities.

You can’t stay attached to the news without suffering.  One especially heartbreaking interview was with Bryan Fogel, the Award winning director of the documentary Dissident about the murder of the journalist Jamal Kashoggi.  After outstanding press reviews the film could not find one distributor.  Even Jeff Bezos, who owns the Washington Post where Kashoggi worked, would not put it on Amazon. Everyone was too afraid or too addicted to Saudi money.  It’s just now going to be available on demand.

Do you listen to Podcasts?  If so, what are your favorites?

"Chicago Bill" Brings Home the Gold

 

When Anya Taylor-Joy won her best actor Golden Globe, she thanked "Chicago Bill."  And when The Queen's Gambit won the Globe for Best Series, William Horberg came on the screen as the spokesperson for the show.  What a moment!

Thanks to my fast-acting friend Phyllis for your photos of Bill on TV.  Thanks everyone who called and popped up in my email. 

CHECKMATE!