Words are worth fighting over!
Blaska did like old people are supposed to do and joined a book club. Composed of some very accomplished people, they let me in anyway. We count former mayors, state legislators, a county executive, a college dean and president, and state agency secretaries. We got a book author, various attorneys, a professional environmentalist, and Marc Eisen. Blaska was the token Republican until the club admitted a second. Who says affirmative action is dead?!
The club favors books that tell how we got into this mess and how we can climb the hell back out of the hole we’ve dug for ourselves. (Lot of those books.) And anything written by George Orwell and David Maraniss. Still want to read David’s book about his father, who was my editor at The Capital Times. Never realized Elliott had been forced out of a previous newspaper job because he was (as Tailgunner Joe used to say) a card-carrying communist. It didn’t show.
Not particularly Woke
Despite the ravages of time, still a lot of wattage in this club. There is general consensus that removing the 42-ton boulder from the campus of the University of Wisconsin to placate ignorant grievance study majors was an act of intellectual cowardice. They agree that Madison schools are failing. (One of its members admits to having voted for my 2019 school board candidacy.) Our verdict on Woodrow Wilson is that he was a racist schitt. These are Democrats, btw.
If a proposed book is much over 400 words, fuhgeddabout it. These are educated people but we’re not getting any younger. We’d like to finish the assigned book before a certain specter in a shroud and a scythe comes knocking.
Just finished dissecting Margaret MacMillan’s Paris 1919, an account of how the victors of WW1 redrew the map of Europe, created the Middle East as it writhes today, and laid the predicates for round 2 in 1939. (More Woodrow Wilson.)
For our next read, Blaska advocated Last Train to Memphis; the rise of Elvis Presley — and not just because, like the book about the Versailles Treaty, we had read it already. But because Elvis is real history. He got America and the world all shook up. We were out-voted. The majority chose Abundance, a best seller. Blaska warmed to the choice when told it criticized liberals.
She wrote Reagan’s poetry
The book currently on our nightstand — book club or no — is Peggy Noonan’s recounting of her stint writing speeches for Ronald Reagan: What I Saw at the Revolution. Peggy wrote Reagan’s remarks after the explosion of the Challenger shuttle, as traumatized students across the country witnessed the astronauts “slipp[ing] the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.” Among other classics.
What gives the book its guilty pleasures are her battles with the bureaucrats. One chapter is titled, “Ich Bin ein Pain in the Neck.” Peggy once marked up and circulated the Gettysburg Address as the State Department and National Security Council might have. That was just not done — another reason to love Peggy Noonan. The book is only 353 pages.
Wish I had read Peggy before scribbling for Tommy Thompson. Speeches are their own genre. One morning, busy on the throne before heading off to the Capitol, Blaska gets a call. It’s the governor. “I’m in the plane. Where am I going, Dave? Who am I talking to? What am I going to say?”
Hearing that information, any problems with constipation were immediately resolved. Night before, had finished the speech, inserted it into the looseleaf binder containing the governor’s agenda for the next day, and prepared to deposit it with Capitol Police, who would drive it out to the residence, as per usual. Kevin Keane, the communication director, asked to take a look. Dropped it on his desk and continued homeward bound. The speech writer assumed Keane would hand over to the courriers. Wrongly, as it transpired.
Blaska’s Bottom Line: Thought for sure we would find a pink slip on our keyboard that morning. Later encountered a member of his audience, who reported: “Best speech he ever gave.”
Tommy had winged it.
11 responses to “Blaska’s book report”
Fondly recall Elliott Maraniss. As a State Journal reporter, competed vigorously with CT. It was honest competition. John Patrick Hunter, Tom Foley, Rose Kendrick, Dick Coyle, many others.
What am I reading? Mostly spy/ thrillers focusing on world turmoil, conspiracies and corruption in our government, foreign governments, etc. A lot by Joel Rosenberg. Interesting and scary stuff. Also read the War Planner series by Andrew Watts. I generally read 2-3 books a week, but now that the weather is better it will be less reading. Also reading more serious stuff in between these books.
My reading and video tastes are varied. I have always been a huge fan of the 1943 movie The Oxbow Incident, based on the novel by Walter van Tilburg Clark. It was broadcast last night on TCM. To those who have never seen it: I’m envious. Give this “Western” with a message your time.
I recently departed from a book club whose members voted to read “James” by Percival Everett, which re-imagines (badly) “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” told from the point of view of Jim, the runaway slave. I tossed it aside after reading about 20 pages. Jim sounded like a Harvard professor of African American Studies, who readers were asked to accept as a realistic character. Needless to say, it got rave reviews and made the NYT best-sellers list. I sincerely hope that Trump’s long overdue war on wokeism in America’s universities (and yes, it does exist), leads to the closure of grievance studies departments, which were created in the late 60s when spineless administrators caved in to “demands” by wild-eyed and empty-headed “activists,” an act of intellectual disgrace that precipitated the long downhill slide of those institutions.
Hi Gary: The rumor mill says Steven Spielberg is developing “James” into a movie. I’m sure you’ll want to stand in line for that….KIDDING! 😉
I’ve heard about this book. What amazes me is, if I am correct, that it thinks it is improving on the original by presenting the story from Jim’s point of view. I actually think you can make a case that, even though Huck is the narrator, the book already is from Jim’s point of view. Twain plays a lot of tricks om that book, the biggest being that Huck never quite accepts that his love and respect for Jim is true morality rather than the false morality of the slave system. It’s Jim who is the hero and truth-teller. The idea that this dumb book could improve on that is pathetic, and tragic. Huck Finn as it is was perhaps the greatest anti-slavery novel ever.
Not getting any younger? Don’t worry, Squire. If you’re nice to lefties Saint Peter will let you in. 😇
Took me down memory lane with this, regarding Dave Maraniss and Elliott. In my leftie days in the late 60s, I helped form a nutty free school called Madison Community School. Elliott was one of the strongest supporters of this doomed effort, one I would call a magnificent failure. His daughter Wendy Maraniss was a star student and a beautiful human being. I like to think I learned a lot from this effort, but not so sure the kids in the school did. It lasted about four years. I did not realize Dave Maraniss wrote a book about the family. Will have to get it.
Then when you mentioned “Last Train to Memphis,” it made me think of the Rosanne Cash song “Modern Blue,” on an album whose songs are all about the South and the hold it maintained on her even as she journeyed far. As in these lyrics from “Modern Blue”: “Oh, I went to Barcelona and my mind got changed / So I’m heading back to Memphis on the midnight train.”
Thanks.
Book clubs are good for the soul, no matter where you come from… or where you’ll end up. We always appreciate your musings, David.
Treasure my time with you and Lloyd and the two-wheeled gang.
I like the old fashioned books, the ones you hold in your hands. Gave up on trying to like Kindle years ago and after trying a couple audiobooks I determined the narrators in my head are much better.
Get most books from the library or ThriftBooks, but occasionally buy new. Currently reading “This Idea Is Brilliant”, a compilation of the answers to Edge.org’s 2017 question “What scientific term or concept ought to be more widely known?”