Autumn in New York...how lucky you are to enjoy the silver days of October! I moved to Manhattan in the fall of 1971 and walked from 23rd to 57th that first glorious afternoon. Bloodied feet but happy heart. Enjoy!
I am sorry I missed the ending to your post. Apparently it was good. How would I know? I got so mad at the beginning that I could not go on. Your dismissive attitude toward arts organizations reviewing their missions as it relates to equity seems willfully ignorant. Their work is long overdue. We as a community should be working harder to recognize the ways certain populations have been denied access to the arts that the rest of us take for granted. This is not at all about denying exceptionalism in the arts. I think you know that. You were perhaps trying to make a point celebrating genius but your words and opinions have a broad reach and are important. You are perpetuating the narrative that the work to break down barriers and create a more equitable world is really work to deny individualism and exceptionalism. This is lazy thinking.
Inclusivity in art doesn’t inherently mean less extraordinary, Mr. Keillor. It simply means casting a wider net to capture art that was often denied entry. It pains me to think of all the beauty we’ve lost over the centuries by not allowing access. Very few people even today can name a single black painter. I doubt that means they were all ordinary—they just had no platform to showcase their talent. Throughout history, the walls of most great museums have largely been decorated by white male artists. They’re not de facto extraordinary—they were just the only game in town. I hope you’ll reconsider and take a look at all the beauty that awaits. Inclusivity does not have to mean ordinary.
No one could argue with your opinion of October in the northeast. It is glorious. I will however take issue with your comments about Thanksgiving which is the most wonderful holiday of the year. Yes, better than Christmas. Seriously GK, what could be better than a holiday that asks only that we show gratitude for our family, friends and fortunate abundance with a home cooked meal, turkey or otherwise, over a four day holiday weekend. My saint of a mother has passed but if she were here to read your column she'd say, "GK, it's Thanksgiving for cryin' out loud, why do you have such a puss on?"
As for Thanksgiving, there are many worse things in the world than practicing politeness. I would say that far too many of us are out of practice on that behavior. Who knows, they might find that they really do still like each other a little bit after all.
You have a true love for libraries because I've heard you speak on the subject many times in the past. They are great institutions created for a very noble cause. Libraries are depository and dispensaries of knowledge. It was created for the public's benefit. It is the public's best free asset.
My father, son of a truck farmer, tenth-grade educated, post-WWII veteran, bricklayer showed me that he knew the benefits of the library by taking me there as a young man to find the technical manuals for my car repair. He was familiar with the Dewey decimal system so he was able to find his own references and material.
An avid hunter and fisherman, golfer, a blackjack player who showed me how to bet on the horses at horseraces took me to the county library. I was really impressed. My father was a reader but for pragmatic reasons. He could read a racing form like a doctor would read a patient's chart. The man that helped me to get thru college, he showed me the library. Thanks, dad.
Thank you, as always for your amusing and profound insights. However, what do you have against Nebraska? It's a lovely place to live (which I do), but it's not for everyone of course...
Your point about discussing health insurance at New Year's Eve parties, reminds me of my group of fellow eighth-decaders. Invariably over our first cuppa coffee, we start our "organ recital." What with Bill's bad prostate, my dvt, and Harry's fluttery heart, we never lack for food for whine...
I think that this is the best column that you have written for quite sometime, Garrison. The picture that you have is I believe of the main reading room in the main building of the New York Public Library. But many other great libraries have or had monumental reading rooms. The great round reading room of the British Museum Library is fantastic also. These are real shrines to learning. Of course many of the techies would love to get rid of the books and beautiful wood furnishing and replace them with screens.
Except for a short Summer job, the only gainful employment that I have engaged in was as a librarian in an academic library. I know the good and bad of libraries and the people who work in them. But libraries represent a great store of learning and knowledge which is available to anyone with the interest and curiosity to use it. I remember the first time that I went in a large library and my amazement at the books and magazines on any subject. I read all of the old Newsweek and Time magazines about President Kennedy and other political people. At that time I was interested in World War I, so I read all of the books on that. Libraries represent pure democracy in that anyone can come and read and learn if they wish. In the big reading rooms, everyone is doing her/his thing.
Like many activities, the advent of the computer and internet has changed the work of libraries tremendously.
I agree with you about mission statements. A mission statement should be a very short statement of what the organization is set up to do. One or two sentences should cover it. A lot of mission statements, particularly those of one or two pages, are just put out for PR purposes. They try to cover every conceivable buzzword. They love to talk about how inclusive they are; whether they live up to it is another story. It is any wonder that many organizations are dysfunctional because their mission statement is unintelligible?
October is the best month and the Fall is the best time of year with the cooler weather and the family gatherings at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Growing up in the rural South with grandparents, aunts, cousins, etc., I knew some great cooks and remember great family gatherings. Unfortunately I have outlived most of those great cooks. We expect a good Thanksgiving and Christmas but nothing like the "good old days" when everyone had baked hams, chicken and dressing, several cakes and pies, and so forth. It is probably a good thing because I don't need to eat to excess -- which is hard to avoid when there is so much good food around.
Not all children dress up as malevolent beings for Halloween 🎃 Think of little princesses and ninja mutant turtles…not yet learned malevolent beings 👻 Happy Halloween!
I'm 82 now, and those "Last" this's and that's do keep following me around, or I, them. My friend and I went caribou hunting in the beautiful hills above the Denali Highway here in Alaska a while back, and I sat and looked out at what seemed an endless landscape. I was exhausted from climbing up that 2-mile hillside and I thought, as I breathed in that good, sweet air, "This is probably the Last Time I'll be up here at this place looking out on all that beauty..." So take heart...when I was ten, you were five...you have a lot of time to get to your Last Time.
Today's reflection fondly reminds me of our family's magical Christmas season trip from Atlanta to NYC in December 2012. Our daughters were just 10 years old then and were avid devourers of the Percy Jackson YA literature series. How thrilling it was for all of us to visit the New York City Public Library (after greeting Patience and Endurance, of course), and for our girls to enjoy the opportunity to participate in a clever Percy Jackson/mythology-themed treasure hunt! My husband had collected enough Delta frequent flyer and Hilton Rewards points such that the four of us could travel to the Big Apple for the price of one RT plane ticket, plus change. We stayed at a very reasonably priced Hampton Inn near Mets stadium and relished travelling into Manhattan each morning with the locals on the Number 7. What a wonderful slice of life in the quotidian fray. BTW, your "Pain Quotidien" chain up there is phenomenal. Being in NYC at Christmastime was just magical! Hot pecans warming our frozen gloved hands, the delightful scent (and flavor!) of falafel street fare, chats with folks at coffeeshops, exploring Central Park, and of course the requisite Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Hall, Christmas tree at dusk at Rockefeller Center, FAO Schwartz, LEGO store, and more.
Amazing how much joy and nostalgia the simple photographs above elicit. Enjoy these last weeks of October, Mr. Keillor.
P.S. Our precious daughters (one import/one domestic - go figure that one) are now first-year college students at Georgia Tech in Atlanta and Berry College in NW Georgia. How happy and proud this Mama and Daddy are to see our girls making their own special memories now as fully capable fledglings.
It seems that you have mastered the art of provoking your readers as precisely as a wasp stinger finds its target-- witness the outraged comments of some. But others, not so easily riled, read on to your invariably soothing conclusion that mitigates the bleakness of reality.
What a moving ending. Thanks for the missive from NYC.
Thank you for this pensive reflection ending on a hopeful note. I miss NYC so much; you’re lucky to live there.
Autumn in New York...how lucky you are to enjoy the silver days of October! I moved to Manhattan in the fall of 1971 and walked from 23rd to 57th that first glorious afternoon. Bloodied feet but happy heart. Enjoy!
I am sorry I missed the ending to your post. Apparently it was good. How would I know? I got so mad at the beginning that I could not go on. Your dismissive attitude toward arts organizations reviewing their missions as it relates to equity seems willfully ignorant. Their work is long overdue. We as a community should be working harder to recognize the ways certain populations have been denied access to the arts that the rest of us take for granted. This is not at all about denying exceptionalism in the arts. I think you know that. You were perhaps trying to make a point celebrating genius but your words and opinions have a broad reach and are important. You are perpetuating the narrative that the work to break down barriers and create a more equitable world is really work to deny individualism and exceptionalism. This is lazy thinking.
Inclusivity in art doesn’t inherently mean less extraordinary, Mr. Keillor. It simply means casting a wider net to capture art that was often denied entry. It pains me to think of all the beauty we’ve lost over the centuries by not allowing access. Very few people even today can name a single black painter. I doubt that means they were all ordinary—they just had no platform to showcase their talent. Throughout history, the walls of most great museums have largely been decorated by white male artists. They’re not de facto extraordinary—they were just the only game in town. I hope you’ll reconsider and take a look at all the beauty that awaits. Inclusivity does not have to mean ordinary.
No one could argue with your opinion of October in the northeast. It is glorious. I will however take issue with your comments about Thanksgiving which is the most wonderful holiday of the year. Yes, better than Christmas. Seriously GK, what could be better than a holiday that asks only that we show gratitude for our family, friends and fortunate abundance with a home cooked meal, turkey or otherwise, over a four day holiday weekend. My saint of a mother has passed but if she were here to read your column she'd say, "GK, it's Thanksgiving for cryin' out loud, why do you have such a puss on?"
As for Thanksgiving, there are many worse things in the world than practicing politeness. I would say that far too many of us are out of practice on that behavior. Who knows, they might find that they really do still like each other a little bit after all.
You have a true love for libraries because I've heard you speak on the subject many times in the past. They are great institutions created for a very noble cause. Libraries are depository and dispensaries of knowledge. It was created for the public's benefit. It is the public's best free asset.
My father, son of a truck farmer, tenth-grade educated, post-WWII veteran, bricklayer showed me that he knew the benefits of the library by taking me there as a young man to find the technical manuals for my car repair. He was familiar with the Dewey decimal system so he was able to find his own references and material.
An avid hunter and fisherman, golfer, a blackjack player who showed me how to bet on the horses at horseraces took me to the county library. I was really impressed. My father was a reader but for pragmatic reasons. He could read a racing form like a doctor would read a patient's chart. The man that helped me to get thru college, he showed me the library. Thanks, dad.
Thank you, as always for your amusing and profound insights. However, what do you have against Nebraska? It's a lovely place to live (which I do), but it's not for everyone of course...
Your point about discussing health insurance at New Year's Eve parties, reminds me of my group of fellow eighth-decaders. Invariably over our first cuppa coffee, we start our "organ recital." What with Bill's bad prostate, my dvt, and Harry's fluttery heart, we never lack for food for whine...
I think that this is the best column that you have written for quite sometime, Garrison. The picture that you have is I believe of the main reading room in the main building of the New York Public Library. But many other great libraries have or had monumental reading rooms. The great round reading room of the British Museum Library is fantastic also. These are real shrines to learning. Of course many of the techies would love to get rid of the books and beautiful wood furnishing and replace them with screens.
Except for a short Summer job, the only gainful employment that I have engaged in was as a librarian in an academic library. I know the good and bad of libraries and the people who work in them. But libraries represent a great store of learning and knowledge which is available to anyone with the interest and curiosity to use it. I remember the first time that I went in a large library and my amazement at the books and magazines on any subject. I read all of the old Newsweek and Time magazines about President Kennedy and other political people. At that time I was interested in World War I, so I read all of the books on that. Libraries represent pure democracy in that anyone can come and read and learn if they wish. In the big reading rooms, everyone is doing her/his thing.
Like many activities, the advent of the computer and internet has changed the work of libraries tremendously.
I agree with you about mission statements. A mission statement should be a very short statement of what the organization is set up to do. One or two sentences should cover it. A lot of mission statements, particularly those of one or two pages, are just put out for PR purposes. They try to cover every conceivable buzzword. They love to talk about how inclusive they are; whether they live up to it is another story. It is any wonder that many organizations are dysfunctional because their mission statement is unintelligible?
October is the best month and the Fall is the best time of year with the cooler weather and the family gatherings at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Growing up in the rural South with grandparents, aunts, cousins, etc., I knew some great cooks and remember great family gatherings. Unfortunately I have outlived most of those great cooks. We expect a good Thanksgiving and Christmas but nothing like the "good old days" when everyone had baked hams, chicken and dressing, several cakes and pies, and so forth. It is probably a good thing because I don't need to eat to excess -- which is hard to avoid when there is so much good food around.
Best wishes to one and all.
Not all children dress up as malevolent beings for Halloween 🎃 Think of little princesses and ninja mutant turtles…not yet learned malevolent beings 👻 Happy Halloween!
My feelings on October.
I'm 82 now, and those "Last" this's and that's do keep following me around, or I, them. My friend and I went caribou hunting in the beautiful hills above the Denali Highway here in Alaska a while back, and I sat and looked out at what seemed an endless landscape. I was exhausted from climbing up that 2-mile hillside and I thought, as I breathed in that good, sweet air, "This is probably the Last Time I'll be up here at this place looking out on all that beauty..." So take heart...when I was ten, you were five...you have a lot of time to get to your Last Time.
Today's reflection fondly reminds me of our family's magical Christmas season trip from Atlanta to NYC in December 2012. Our daughters were just 10 years old then and were avid devourers of the Percy Jackson YA literature series. How thrilling it was for all of us to visit the New York City Public Library (after greeting Patience and Endurance, of course), and for our girls to enjoy the opportunity to participate in a clever Percy Jackson/mythology-themed treasure hunt! My husband had collected enough Delta frequent flyer and Hilton Rewards points such that the four of us could travel to the Big Apple for the price of one RT plane ticket, plus change. We stayed at a very reasonably priced Hampton Inn near Mets stadium and relished travelling into Manhattan each morning with the locals on the Number 7. What a wonderful slice of life in the quotidian fray. BTW, your "Pain Quotidien" chain up there is phenomenal. Being in NYC at Christmastime was just magical! Hot pecans warming our frozen gloved hands, the delightful scent (and flavor!) of falafel street fare, chats with folks at coffeeshops, exploring Central Park, and of course the requisite Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Hall, Christmas tree at dusk at Rockefeller Center, FAO Schwartz, LEGO store, and more.
Amazing how much joy and nostalgia the simple photographs above elicit. Enjoy these last weeks of October, Mr. Keillor.
P.S. Our precious daughters (one import/one domestic - go figure that one) are now first-year college students at Georgia Tech in Atlanta and Berry College in NW Georgia. How happy and proud this Mama and Daddy are to see our girls making their own special memories now as fully capable fledglings.
Thanks for the stroll down memory lane, sir.
It seems that you have mastered the art of provoking your readers as precisely as a wasp stinger finds its target-- witness the outraged comments of some. But others, not so easily riled, read on to your invariably soothing conclusion that mitigates the bleakness of reality.