Democracy requires “loser’s consent.” The losing side in an election must concede — otherwise, democracy is impossible. With this subject do I begin my Impromptus today. In Venezuela, Maduro has said, in effect, “Hell, no, I won’t go.” And he has an army on his side to make his refusal stick (for now, at least).
In this column, I also touch on Israel, China, Trump, chess, Chi Chi (the late golfer, Rodriguez), Alain Delon, and more. My column is here.
Some mail? In a “Salzburg sampler” earlier this week, I discussed a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Andris Nelsons — who is the music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. A reader writes,
Good morning, Mr. Nordlinger,
Or good afternoon to you in Salzburg. A detail about Andris Nelsons and the BSO is that he made his debut with the orchestra conducting Mahler 9. It was at Carnegie Hall on St. Patrick’s Day 2011, and he was substituting for an ailing James Levine. My wife and I had come down from Massachusetts to hear the “Gus O’Malley Ninth” at Carnegie. After dining on corned beef and cabbage at the Pig ’n’ Whistle on 48th Street, we enjoyed the concert immensely. The collaboration worked well, reviews were good, and before long Mr. Nelsons had assumed the helm of the BSO.
At the beginning of this month, I wrote about the prisoner swap between several democracies, led by the United States, and Putin’s Russia (here). I recalled February 11, 1986 — when a swap took place on the Glienicke Bridge (Berlin). That was the day Natan Sharansky came out of the Gulag.
A reader sends me a picture of a young man — a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army — on the Glienicke Bridge in 1988. The young man is the reader himself.
I remember how surreal it was. You learned about the “iron curtain” in school, but to really see it with your own eyes was both powerful and disturbing. It was one of those things that make you wonder, “How can this exist?”
Here he is:
Months ago, I wrote about Young’s Jersey Dairy, in Yellow Springs, Ohio. “If you ever get a chance to go there, run, don’t walk. Speed. Whatever. And go again.”
A reader writes,
Hello, Jay,
After traveling from Pennsylvania to Cincinnati (I am originally from there) to see Luke Combs this past weekend with my daughter, on the return trip back to PA we took you up on your recommendation and decided to try Young’s Jersey Dairy. What a treat!
Between my double cheeseburger, Lily’s grilled cheese, their homemade ice cream, and then petting the animals, we had a fun experience and great food. What a wonderful Midwestern treat!
Mind you this was on top of the food coma we were already in from the previous day of ice cream at Graeter’s in Cincinnati.
Two photos:
Couple months back, I mentioned, and showed, some crepe myrtles in Ocala, Fla. A reader now says, “It’s crepe-myrtle time in North Carolina!” — and provides the evidence:
Our Molly Powell says, “First dahlia of the season here,” i.e., in New Hampshire:
Our Jessica Evans shares a “happy corner” of her garden:
She throws in a monarch, as a bonus:
Thank you, one and all.