“And what is so rare as a day in June?” That is a wonderful line of poetry, and June is a wonderful month, isn’t it? No wonder brides like to get married in it. (Do they still?) (Do people marry?) Anyway, I begin my Impromptus today with that poetical tribute to June. I continue with something less pleasant: the Saudi dictatorship and the PGA Tour. I also have items on affirmative action, China, the spelling bee, and sundry other items. If you’d like to check it out, go here.
Let’s have some mail — beginning with,
Dear Mr. Nordlinger,
Greetings from Clarkston, Michigan!
I am not a golfer. I have played the game (gone through the motions) once in my life. There are two reasons I am not a golf fanatic. First: Earlier in life I was too preoccupied with other sports. Second: I recognized early on that it was a thing I could easily obsess over.
However, in the last decade or so, I have become a real fan of televised golf. The game has a lot to say for it. . . .
There is one thing that bugs the living heck out of me, though. Does it bother only me that a millisecond after a drive, some guy is always present to shout, “Get in the hole!”? Am I the only curmudgeon who dislikes this?
No.
Another reader writes,
Howdy, Jay:
I trust you are well on this glorious Memorial Day weekend.
Recently I listened to a podcast about the life of WFB. There was much speculation as to why he never wrote “The Big Book.” While his output was prodigious, he never got around to publishing his magnum opus in the way other political thinkers have. . . .
Some have speculated that WFB was too much the bon vivant to buckle down and spend a few years on a single project. . . .
I’d be curious to learn your thoughts and musings as to why WFB never got around to producing his masterpiece.
I have two answers. (1) His œuvre, altogether, is his masterpiece. The thousands of columns, essays, books, speeches, etc. In a way, his life is his masterpiece. (2) Maybe I could paste a couple of paragraphs from the appreciation of Leonard Bernstein I wrote in 2018, on the occasion of his centenary:
Throughout Bernstein’s life, there was a debate: Should he narrow down and do less, so that he could do one or two things better, or even better? Should he write classical music, only? Musical theater, only? Should he concentrate on conducting? Should he throw himself into piano playing, and be an actual concert pianist? I am one of those who believe that he needed to do it all. That he needed the blizzard of activity. I’m not sure he would have done any one thing better, had he focused on just that.
Bernstein reminds me of William F. Buckley Jr., different as they were in their politics. Buckley edited a magazine, wrote a syndicated column, hosted a television show, lectured widely, wrote spy novels, etc. When will he knuckle down and write a serious book?, many said. Why do we need another sailing journal or a hundred more columns on the news of the day when he could give us some summa? I believe that Buckley needed his blizzard of activity, needed outlets for his various talents, needed to scratch a variety of itches. Both Buckley and Bernstein were dedicated workers. They got a lot done. Each worked until his final breath (and kept going, I bet).
A reader writes,
Hi, Jay,
My wife and I were in Iowa, visiting Freedom Rocks. We managed to visit ten counties’ worth during the weekend, and each one was unique, putting into perspective what a great country the USA is, and reminding us that many of our soldiers never made it back home.
Let me pause to link to an article about these Freedom Rocks — here. The article begins,
Iowa’s Freedom Rocks are monuments to veterans painted by Bubba Sorensen. His goal is to have one in each of the state’s 99 counties.
Our reader continues,
Below are pictures of the Delaware County Freedom Rock in Dundee. I have visited 13 rocks now, with 86 more to go. Now I need to update my six-year-old phone for better-quality pictures.
They are plenty good regardless. Thank you to him, and to all readers and correspondents.
