Your mother in law is looking great! You better take good care of yourself, Jim, so Deborah doesn't have to spend too many years without you!
I saw my father's first cousin, Barbara, for the first time in many years on Thursday, along with a son and daughter-in-law. She's 96, and looking and sounding like she's got a number of years left in her. She now lives much closer to me than she did, so I hope to see a lot of her.
Thanks, and yes, I am well aware of the odds in Deb's favor here!
There is no "fair" or "rational" way to predict or judge the way at which different people will bear up over the years. As I've mentioned before, my father was born around the same time as Charlie Peters, and through his lifetime adopted all the health-and-fitness practices that Charlie notably did not. But Charlie was around for 15 years longer.
And Angie Zerad has always been active in her musical life, but has not noticeably been a careful diet-and-exercise person. And she is thriving at age 102.
We all make the best use of the time we have, and are grateful for those who have extra productive and satisfying years.
I've got a cousin once removed on my mother's side who at 96 passed the driving test "with flying colors," or something similar according to the instructor, and lived to be 104, and my 96 year old cousin once removed, Barbara, is on my father's side, and I'm hoping my efforts plus that will give me a lot of good years... but as you say, Charlie Peters got the extra years. But I don't feel like I'm depriving myself.
Nov 27, 2023·edited Nov 27, 2023Liked by James Fallows
What an unexpected pleasure (though tempered by the reason for its appearance) to see the appreciation for Jerry Doolittle.
Mr. Doolittle (I can still recall the somewhat exasperated snort he let out when someone addressed him as Professor Doolittle on the first day of class) was my expos teacher in the fall of 1985. While I am not a person who generally lacks for confidence, I was coming to Harvard from a California high school that (at that time at least) didn't send many kids to the Ivy League. So I remember wondering if I would have to change the way I wrote to succeed in college.
Mr. Doolittle quickly assuaged those fears. He made it clear that there was no mystery to being a good writer. It was about having something to say and then saying it with clarity and conviction. And as someone who was interested in the idea of national service (and would go on to write my thesis about it), I still remember the anger he held toward the peace protesters of the 60s who had treated military personnel with disdain. He firmly believed that if there hadn't been student exemptions and everyone had served, the Vietnam War would have ended far earlier.
It's been awhile since I thought of Mr. Doolittle, but he was one of only a small handful of teachers at Harvard that actually made an impact on me. Thank you for sharing your memories of him and for the links to the Brian Murphy article and Crimson profile.
Thanks for this wonderful glimpse of that part of Jerry's life. (Just as you are conditioned to call him "Mr" rather than "Prof" Doolittle, I am conditioned to call him Jerry.)
In the parts of life in which I knew him best and most frequently saw him in action, he wasn't mainly in the mentor role. (Except with his five children.) I am glad though not terribly surprised to hear that he was a good and patient teacher.
One other aspect of that Crimson piece: Another reader alerted me to a name that is now familiar but that my eye had skipped over at first reading. It was this line in the piece:
>>Students in his sections say that Doolittle's anecdotes make class entertaining and interesting. "His sense of humor really helps," says Preetinder Bharara '90. "He doesn't care about the excess stuff--just the writing," Bharara says. "The best thing about Mr. Doolittle is that he's had a lot of interesting life experiences," says Douglas W. Marx '90. "He's very opinionated" and that makes for spirited debates in class, says Marx.<<
Nov 27, 2023·edited Nov 27, 2023Liked by James Fallows
Jim I find obituaries a marvelous way to learn fascinating aspects of individuals, both distinguished and just plain interesting.
The New York Times over the years has developed the art of obituary writing. I have learned of the multi-dimensionality of folks who I thought I had known well.
Warm thanks for introducing me to Angela and Jerry.
Now that I am 90 my wife thought that I should write my own obituary. AWWWRK! I would much prefer to read what others will write about me. I imagine that it might be nice, but not especially true. Fortunately I shan’t be scrutinized by NYT obituary specialists.
Yes, I agree, obits at their best are bite-sized biographies. I like the way the leading papers have made them a special art form, with some of their best writers assigned there, and a lot of space allotted to life stories that deserve it. (Whether or not most people had ever heard of the obit's subject. The Post's excellent piece on Jerry Doolittle is an example.)
David I told her that I prefer to write nonfiction than fiction. My favorite fiction is autobiographies, including Churchill’s six volumes on how he won WW II.
Nov 27, 2023·edited Nov 27, 2023Liked by James Fallows
David Asking me about my favorite biographies is like asking a drunk his favorite booze.
My favorite collection of bio essays is David McCullough’s Brave Companions. I have continually read portions of this since it was published in 1992. David’s Pulitzer-winning TRUMAN ‘resurrected’ the man historically, though Hamby’s bio is more balanced.
Irving Stone was marvelous on well-researched semi-fiction bio stories. I have read almost all of his books. Darwin was my favorite. His book on Schliemann in Troy and Greece was fascinating. Ditto on Italian artists.
For a ‘new’ historical perspective on what seemed commonplace I would recommend House of Morgan, which tracks the Morgan rise and its interrelationship with America’s rise. Interestingly, JP Morgan was handling the financing and purchasing of armaments for England and, thus, the White House should have known that armaments were aboard the Lusitania.
Bill Taubman’s KHRUSHCHEV is a remarkable study of Nikita which differs sharply from what US officials may have thought. He was Stalin’s hatchet man long before his anti-Stalin speech. The sending of missiles to Cuba was his spontaneous idea ‘to put a hedge hodge into America’s trousers.’
Excellent tips, thank you. It would be a good idea to start a Biography Book Club. It turns out that John Maynard Keynes has served as subject for many excellent ones.
On small-world closing-the-loop: the William Taubman of Khrushchev is the brother of Phil Taubman, who was a college contemporary of mine. Phil was the editor of the Stanford student newspaper, the same year I was the editor of the Crimson at Harvard. FWIW.
I'd join that book club any day and twice on Sunday!
Having taken a freshman seminar on Keynes with a notably dry economic historian, I heartily concur on him as both a subject of great writing, and a window into history.
I'll copy this so I can consult it next time I'm looking for a book to read. (I have one I'm reading and several in line at the moment--the former is Peter Stark's Gallop Toward the Sun: Tecumsah and William Henry Harrison's Struggle for the Destiny of a Nation.
Nov 27, 2023·edited Nov 27, 2023Liked by James Fallows
David Long ago, when bourbon was my choice, President’s Choice [Brown & Forman] was my sipping favorite. Now I am down to a single beer at dinner. Lagunitas Maximus or Duvel.
In the late 1990s I read a lot on Native Americans as I visited numerous communities in my flawed effort to establish a summer institute for teachers at Native American colleges. One interesting point. The Trail of Tears is presented historically as a dreadful event in which 4000 Native Americans died.
While the transfer of these people to the West was a travesty, the actual journey has been misrepresented. The Native Americans took nearly 2,000 Black slaves with them. The American soldiers on the trip suffered almost as much as the Native Americans. Because of disease almost 800 died, especially the old and the very young.
Your mother in law is looking great! You better take good care of yourself, Jim, so Deborah doesn't have to spend too many years without you!
I saw my father's first cousin, Barbara, for the first time in many years on Thursday, along with a son and daughter-in-law. She's 96, and looking and sounding like she's got a number of years left in her. She now lives much closer to me than she did, so I hope to see a lot of her.
Thanks, and yes, I am well aware of the odds in Deb's favor here!
There is no "fair" or "rational" way to predict or judge the way at which different people will bear up over the years. As I've mentioned before, my father was born around the same time as Charlie Peters, and through his lifetime adopted all the health-and-fitness practices that Charlie notably did not. But Charlie was around for 15 years longer.
And Angie Zerad has always been active in her musical life, but has not noticeably been a careful diet-and-exercise person. And she is thriving at age 102.
We all make the best use of the time we have, and are grateful for those who have extra productive and satisfying years.
I've got a cousin once removed on my mother's side who at 96 passed the driving test "with flying colors," or something similar according to the instructor, and lived to be 104, and my 96 year old cousin once removed, Barbara, is on my father's side, and I'm hoping my efforts plus that will give me a lot of good years... but as you say, Charlie Peters got the extra years. But I don't feel like I'm depriving myself.
What an unexpected pleasure (though tempered by the reason for its appearance) to see the appreciation for Jerry Doolittle.
Mr. Doolittle (I can still recall the somewhat exasperated snort he let out when someone addressed him as Professor Doolittle on the first day of class) was my expos teacher in the fall of 1985. While I am not a person who generally lacks for confidence, I was coming to Harvard from a California high school that (at that time at least) didn't send many kids to the Ivy League. So I remember wondering if I would have to change the way I wrote to succeed in college.
Mr. Doolittle quickly assuaged those fears. He made it clear that there was no mystery to being a good writer. It was about having something to say and then saying it with clarity and conviction. And as someone who was interested in the idea of national service (and would go on to write my thesis about it), I still remember the anger he held toward the peace protesters of the 60s who had treated military personnel with disdain. He firmly believed that if there hadn't been student exemptions and everyone had served, the Vietnam War would have ended far earlier.
It's been awhile since I thought of Mr. Doolittle, but he was one of only a small handful of teachers at Harvard that actually made an impact on me. Thank you for sharing your memories of him and for the links to the Brian Murphy article and Crimson profile.
Thanks for this wonderful glimpse of that part of Jerry's life. (Just as you are conditioned to call him "Mr" rather than "Prof" Doolittle, I am conditioned to call him Jerry.)
In the parts of life in which I knew him best and most frequently saw him in action, he wasn't mainly in the mentor role. (Except with his five children.) I am glad though not terribly surprised to hear that he was a good and patient teacher.
One other aspect of that Crimson piece: Another reader alerted me to a name that is now familiar but that my eye had skipped over at first reading. It was this line in the piece:
>>Students in his sections say that Doolittle's anecdotes make class entertaining and interesting. "His sense of humor really helps," says Preetinder Bharara '90. "He doesn't care about the excess stuff--just the writing," Bharara says. "The best thing about Mr. Doolittle is that he's had a lot of interesting life experiences," says Douglas W. Marx '90. "He's very opinionated" and that makes for spirited debates in class, says Marx.<<
Preetinder is now better known as "Preet"...
I caught that too!!
Jim I find obituaries a marvelous way to learn fascinating aspects of individuals, both distinguished and just plain interesting.
The New York Times over the years has developed the art of obituary writing. I have learned of the multi-dimensionality of folks who I thought I had known well.
Warm thanks for introducing me to Angela and Jerry.
Now that I am 90 my wife thought that I should write my own obituary. AWWWRK! I would much prefer to read what others will write about me. I imagine that it might be nice, but not especially true. Fortunately I shan’t be scrutinized by NYT obituary specialists.
Yes, I agree, obits at their best are bite-sized biographies. I like the way the leading papers have made them a special art form, with some of their best writers assigned there, and a lot of space allotted to life stories that deserve it. (Whether or not most people had ever heard of the obit's subject. The Post's excellent piece on Jerry Doolittle is an example.)
Keith, tell your wife you'd rather spend the time with her than writing your obit!
David I told her that I prefer to write nonfiction than fiction. My favorite fiction is autobiographies, including Churchill’s six volumes on how he won WW II.
That's funny! Do you have any favorite biographies?
David Asking me about my favorite biographies is like asking a drunk his favorite booze.
My favorite collection of bio essays is David McCullough’s Brave Companions. I have continually read portions of this since it was published in 1992. David’s Pulitzer-winning TRUMAN ‘resurrected’ the man historically, though Hamby’s bio is more balanced.
Irving Stone was marvelous on well-researched semi-fiction bio stories. I have read almost all of his books. Darwin was my favorite. His book on Schliemann in Troy and Greece was fascinating. Ditto on Italian artists.
For a ‘new’ historical perspective on what seemed commonplace I would recommend House of Morgan, which tracks the Morgan rise and its interrelationship with America’s rise. Interestingly, JP Morgan was handling the financing and purchasing of armaments for England and, thus, the White House should have known that armaments were aboard the Lusitania.
Bill Taubman’s KHRUSHCHEV is a remarkable study of Nikita which differs sharply from what US officials may have thought. He was Stalin’s hatchet man long before his anti-Stalin speech. The sending of missiles to Cuba was his spontaneous idea ‘to put a hedge hodge into America’s trousers.’
Excellent tips, thank you. It would be a good idea to start a Biography Book Club. It turns out that John Maynard Keynes has served as subject for many excellent ones.
On small-world closing-the-loop: the William Taubman of Khrushchev is the brother of Phil Taubman, who was a college contemporary of mine. Phil was the editor of the Stanford student newspaper, the same year I was the editor of the Crimson at Harvard. FWIW.
I'd join that book club any day and twice on Sunday!
Having taken a freshman seminar on Keynes with a notably dry economic historian, I heartily concur on him as both a subject of great writing, and a window into history.
I was just going to ask you about bourbon! (JK)
I'll copy this so I can consult it next time I'm looking for a book to read. (I have one I'm reading and several in line at the moment--the former is Peter Stark's Gallop Toward the Sun: Tecumsah and William Henry Harrison's Struggle for the Destiny of a Nation.
David Long ago, when bourbon was my choice, President’s Choice [Brown & Forman] was my sipping favorite. Now I am down to a single beer at dinner. Lagunitas Maximus or Duvel.
In the late 1990s I read a lot on Native Americans as I visited numerous communities in my flawed effort to establish a summer institute for teachers at Native American colleges. One interesting point. The Trail of Tears is presented historically as a dreadful event in which 4000 Native Americans died.
While the transfer of these people to the West was a travesty, the actual journey has been misrepresented. The Native Americans took nearly 2,000 Black slaves with them. The American soldiers on the trip suffered almost as much as the Native Americans. Because of disease almost 800 died, especially the old and the very young.