...but I've always enjoyed the political commentary of George Will. Straightforward, thought provoking commentary about politics and history seems to be his forte. While I don't agree with all of his views on things, I'm always left with the conclusion that they are well thought-out and believable, undoubtedly more so than my own.
Yesterday I sat next to George Will on a plane from Washington DC to Columbia, SC. He's shorter than I thought, but with a head of hair I can only hope for at his age. Sort of a less wrinkled Lou Holtz, minus the bubbly personality. Well, that's not exactly correct because he giggled several times while reading a biography of the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, underlining the best parts with a blue pen.
"I see you're reading about the late Senator Moynihan, Mr. Will. Did you know him well?"
"Yes. He was a very dear friend", he said.
"Oh, I'm sorry for your loss", I said.
After a pause, "Why are you heading to SC?"
"I'm presenting to a group of local veterans tomorrow about the Battle of the Bulge", Mr. Will said, never looking up from his book- that dirty blond hair being blown gently by the airplane's overhead air spout.
Giggle, followed by an underline with the blue pen.
For those who don't know, I only appear idiotic. It's a mere surface trait to a brilliant mind. I actually have some scope of knowledge regarding American history and knew that the "Battle of the Bulge" was not an Oxygen channel original reality show about weight loss. I decided to go for the throat and impress this tiny but wicked-smart politico.
"So, er, who's your favorite historian on the subject. hmmmm?", I said.
Giggle, sigh, blue pen underline. Never looking up from between the pages of his dear friends life he said, "The memoirs of Truman".
Oh, yes of course, the memoirs of Truman! Darn, I should of thought of that. After that brief exchange I left the poor man alone, lost in his memories of the distinguished gentleman from New York.
Sniffle, sigh, underline...
4 comments:
You sell yourself short - your brilliant mind has no outer idiocy showing at all. Pretty cool brush with greatness.
The original actual Battle of the Bulge was a heroic turning point in WW2.
You may be remembering that "Battle Of The Bulge" was in fact a Lifetime Movie starring Valerie Bertinelli.
Wow in an economy like this, you are still flying first class? Or was George Will stuck in coach with you :-)
It was a small commuter plane. No first or business class. All passengers were considered special in their own way.
I really enjoy his columns. He is a very smart man, who writes about baseball with the same intelligence and circumspection as he does politics.
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