In Impromptus today, I open with Caitlin Clark, the WNBA star — who has been the target of potshots lately. “Brickbats,” as Mitt Romney would say. I also discuss Bill Buckley and Ayn Rand (two singular personalities). FDR, Eisenhower, and Biden. A late violinist (Werner Hink, of the Vienna Philharmonic). And so on. If this is for you, it is for you: here.
Let’s have some mail. On Thursday, I had a column about Marco Rubio (the Trumpification of). It began,
There comes a time when you have to stop calling something “new.” New College, Oxford, is an exception — it was founded in 1379. It will be “New” forever, presumably.
A reader writes,
Orthodox Christians venerate Saint Symeon the New Theologian, who lived 949 to 1022.
That is cake-taking, possibly.
Also in that column, I quoted a lyric from Lyle Lovett, one that I have frequent occasion to quote: “It may be no big deal to you, but it’s a very big deal to me.” A friend tells me that he has often thought of another lyric, from the same songwriter: “You can have my girl, but don’t touch my hat.”
In an Impromptus, I wrote, “One of the most wretched American cities is Baltimore — a beautiful and historic city, beset by social pathologies.” I then linked to a feature published in the New York Times, headed “Almost 6,000 Dead in 6 Years: How Baltimore Became the U.S. Overdose Capital.”
A reader writes,
If Baltimore is merely one of the most wretched cities, I would love to hear what else is in its league.
Another reader writes,
I’ve lived in Baltimore since 1999 (intended to stay for a year when I came down from New York) and I’m a realtor, so I’ve seen every part of this city. Baltimore is a beautiful city, with lovely historic architecture, its place in early American history, its place in the Civil War, and on from there. Hills and parks, leafy neighborhoods — these things make you think you’re outside city limits.
Affordability. A perfect situation: You can go to NYC, D.C., or Philly in no time, spend a day, and return. You can be at the beach in two or two and a half hours. You can go west and be in the mountains. No heavy winter. A real summer. Lovely spring and autumn. No volcanoes or earthquakes, or tornadoes, or hurricanes. A lot of entertainment history.
But you can step outside your door and get shot. . . .
There are times I drive through the city and I see the effects of the drug problem and I’m sorry to say that I’ve become hardened to it. There are neighborhoods with open-air drug markets.
It will sound harsh, but with all the problems — the boarded-up neighborhoods, the drugs, the crime — sometimes I think it would be best if certain blocks were just left to be burned to the ground and then rebuilt from scratch.
Baltimore deserves better.
I had a column called “Great and Unread: On books that we have tried and failed with.” I just loved this letter, from a reader:
When we were in our very early 20s, my wife and I endeavored to read War and Peace. It didn’t take too long for us to figure out that I was reading the war and skipping the peace while she was doing the opposite! So, she would update me on the doings at court and I’d update her on how the war was progressing. We got through it that way (and never looked back).
Marvelous.
I spotted a headline that read, “Dutch police say they’re homing in on robbers responsible for multimillion-dollar jewelry heist.” I was delighted to see that headline because, as I explained, “so many people say and write ‘honing’ when they mean ‘homing.’”
A reader writes,
Jay, I’m glad to see your remarks on the misuse of that word. My aunt, very Texan, used to say, “I’m just honin’ for some fried chicken.” That was a proper use of the word, in my opinion.
And now I’m hungry. Thanks to one and all.