Notes & Asides: Charles Wallen, RIP

Charles Wallen, RIP

MOST of our friends aren’t listed in directories that record eminence. When the loss is of a public figure, public attention is expected, and obituaries are published and read. But of course the pain is no less when the death is that of a personal and private friend. Then there is no catharsis, no public or semi-public mourning, no public tributes. The consolation, in this corner of national review, is the accessibility of this page. I have treated it, over the years, most exploitative- ly—as something akin to personal property; yet always aware that its longevity depends entirely on its capacity to engage your interest. From time to time I use my half- acre of space to recall a friendship purely personal, as I do now, on learning of the death of Charles Wallen Jr.

About the Author

William F. Buckley Jr.

William F. Buckley Jr. founded National Review magazine in 1955.

Charles Wallen, RIP

MOST of our friends aren’t listed in directories that record eminence. When the loss is of a public figure, public attention is expected, and obituaries are published and read. But of course the pain is no less when the death is that of a personal and private friend. Then there is no catharsis, no public or semi-public mourning, no public tributes. The consolation, in this corner of national review, is the accessibility of this page. I have treated it, over the years, most exploitative- ly—as something akin to personal property; yet always aware that its longevity depends entirely on its capacity to engage your interest. From time to time I use my half- acre of space to recall a friendship purely personal, as I do now, on learning of the death of Charles Wallen Jr.