Jay, I’ve been reading you forever, but Part VIII made me a paid subscriber. WFB was a huge part of my formation in the late 1970s and 80s. My first intro to him was his newspaper column, and that led me to Firing Line. But the sailing books, another level. I wrote him asking about his recommendations for the colleges I was looking at, not expecting a reply, but taking a shot because he was such a letter writer. I got a signed reply from Pat, with recommendations! Later, I gave my grandmother (a cradle Catholic) a copy of ‘Nearer My God’ for her (I think) 75th b’day; she always liked Bill. Her comment I recall to this day (she’s been gone for 20 years) was, “I didn’t realize he was so rich!” Still makes me smile. Jay, thank you for prompting these lovely (!) memories.
For me I randomly picked out “United Nations Journal: A Delegate’s Odyssey” from my father’s bookcase one day. I was ~24, mostly apolitical and kind of directionless. I read it in 1 or 2 days and it literally changed my life.
This series has been an enjoyable peek behind the scenes.
Reading these pieces, Jay, has made me reflect on a close friendship I enjoyed for many years with an older colleague at the law firm where I practiced for over forty years. At first, when I was a new associate, he was my mentor; in time we were a team.
Like you and Mr. Buckley, he and I were writers. Business litigators spend much of their time writing, though with a readership (judges, their clerks, opponents, and clients) less extensive than yours! My friend and I worried and wrestled endlessly over words. Was a phrase too snarky? Was our tone consistent? Was our brief punchy? -- where could we omit needless words? Was a paragraph too far off the point? Would a witticism amuse a judge, or annoy him? Did we dare quote the Marx brothers, or a line from Dickens, in a footnote? What should we cut when we hit the court-prescribed word limit?
We were great admirers of one another's work. We laughed helplessly over the follies of our opponents and their clients. We loved Dickens and Tom Wolfe. Like Mr. Buckley with you, my friend never grasped why I didn't drink alcohol. But we were intimate; he was a generous and loyal friend. He passed away two years before I retired, a victim of Parkinson’s.
Relationships like this are rare, I think. I’m glad you had Bill Buckley.
So, as you'll recall from Overdrive (a book I have not picked up since I was in college; amazing what the brain retains), Chuck Heston told WFB that Red Wing Peanut Butter was manufactured under several different labels. Here in Chicago I've never seen Red Wing. So what do we do these days? We ask AI, and it said ... well, a lot, but the *nut graf* says,
"... look for the cheapest or generic/store-brand peanut butter at your local supermarket; that product has the highest probability of coming from the same production heritage as Red Wing."
(Also, "Post Holdings acquired the Peter Pan brand in 2021, and its products are manufactured within the same Post Consumer Brands division that includes the 8th Avenue private-label operations. While not the *exact* same formula as Red Wing, it is part of the same current corporate manufacturing family.")
On the twelfth day of Buckley, Jay Nordlinger gave to me...
Jay, I’ve been reading you forever, but Part VIII made me a paid subscriber. WFB was a huge part of my formation in the late 1970s and 80s. My first intro to him was his newspaper column, and that led me to Firing Line. But the sailing books, another level. I wrote him asking about his recommendations for the colleges I was looking at, not expecting a reply, but taking a shot because he was such a letter writer. I got a signed reply from Pat, with recommendations! Later, I gave my grandmother (a cradle Catholic) a copy of ‘Nearer My God’ for her (I think) 75th b’day; she always liked Bill. Her comment I recall to this day (she’s been gone for 20 years) was, “I didn’t realize he was so rich!” Still makes me smile. Jay, thank you for prompting these lovely (!) memories.
Really appreciate it, JWT. Thank you.
I have very much enjoyed reading about your friendship and deep affection for each other.
Thank you so much, Chuck.
Thanks so much! I started reading him as a teenager and it is hard to overstate the effect he had on my thinking.
For me I randomly picked out “United Nations Journal: A Delegate’s Odyssey” from my father’s bookcase one day. I was ~24, mostly apolitical and kind of directionless. I read it in 1 or 2 days and it literally changed my life.
This series has been an enjoyable peek behind the scenes.
That was the first Buckley book I got, too. He wrote so many -- I couldn't keep up!
Reading these pieces, Jay, has made me reflect on a close friendship I enjoyed for many years with an older colleague at the law firm where I practiced for over forty years. At first, when I was a new associate, he was my mentor; in time we were a team.
Like you and Mr. Buckley, he and I were writers. Business litigators spend much of their time writing, though with a readership (judges, their clerks, opponents, and clients) less extensive than yours! My friend and I worried and wrestled endlessly over words. Was a phrase too snarky? Was our tone consistent? Was our brief punchy? -- where could we omit needless words? Was a paragraph too far off the point? Would a witticism amuse a judge, or annoy him? Did we dare quote the Marx brothers, or a line from Dickens, in a footnote? What should we cut when we hit the court-prescribed word limit?
We were great admirers of one another's work. We laughed helplessly over the follies of our opponents and their clients. We loved Dickens and Tom Wolfe. Like Mr. Buckley with you, my friend never grasped why I didn't drink alcohol. But we were intimate; he was a generous and loyal friend. He passed away two years before I retired, a victim of Parkinson’s.
Relationships like this are rare, I think. I’m glad you had Bill Buckley.
That's wonderful, Paul. Thx a ton.
Bravo. Great job.
So, as you'll recall from Overdrive (a book I have not picked up since I was in college; amazing what the brain retains), Chuck Heston told WFB that Red Wing Peanut Butter was manufactured under several different labels. Here in Chicago I've never seen Red Wing. So what do we do these days? We ask AI, and it said ... well, a lot, but the *nut graf* says,
"... look for the cheapest or generic/store-brand peanut butter at your local supermarket; that product has the highest probability of coming from the same production heritage as Red Wing."
(Also, "Post Holdings acquired the Peter Pan brand in 2021, and its products are manufactured within the same Post Consumer Brands division that includes the 8th Avenue private-label operations. While not the *exact* same formula as Red Wing, it is part of the same current corporate manufacturing family.")
Thank you, Aaron!
Thank you for these lovely reminiscences of a friend dear to you.
Thank you, John!