In praise of ancient wisdom
At the risk of sounding creepy, I like older men. I always have. A few older women, too, don’t get me wrong. But in my life in journalism, it’s been mostly older men who have mentored me, shared their wisdom shoved me in the right direction. The late Larry Allison, an editor and later editorial writer for the Press-Telegram, was one of my favorites. When setting out to write about a controversial subject I would frequently ask him, “So, Larry, what’s my opinion on (whatever controversial subject)?” and he’d patiently say, “Well, Timothy,” and explain both sides of the issue before settling on one and that would miraculously turn out to be my opinion.
Others: Stan Leppard, a grizzled and hilarious cop reporter who wrote on the side for True Detective magazines; Lee Craig, a World War II veteran who would dispense wisdom while digging shrapnel out of his leg with a penknife; Dan Ridder, an honest-to-God newspaper publisher who never interfered with the news side, even to the point of encouraging us to cover the shooting trial of his stepson; and, from the female side, Carolyn Ruszkiewicz, who rescued my career, making me a daily columnist when I was on the brink of quitting in a huff.
And so many more people who would gobble up a lot more time and words than this space allows.
At my age, I’ve run out of older people to admire and to learn from. The ones I’ve mentioned are all dead, but they’re still a large part of me.
Which brings me to Joe Biden, who has never dispensed any wisdom to me personally, of course, but he’s a person I’ve admired and supported since he was a young senator. He’s been a good and honest man throughout his career and, yes, he’s made a few mistakes, but who among us can go better than half a century without the occasional misstep?
I was among the people who buried their face in their hands with despair during his debate with Donald Trump — good God, how does anyone lose a debate with Trump? And it put me, regrettably, on the side of those who thought it would perhaps be best for him to move aside as a candidate for the upcoming election. It’s a wonder to me why Trump followers didn’t feel the same way about their man after his speech at the Republican convention.
When Biden finally bowed out over the weekend to calls from senators, advisers and others to step down, I was both relieved and saddened. He did a fantastic job as president during his current term, bringing the country back from the calamity of the previous presidency.
But I know he was disappointed in the fact that all signs pointed to him losing to Trump this year, and his pride and confidence were likely harmed by the calls for his dropping out of the race.
I maintained a bit of confidence in Biden’s ability to ably run the country for another four years, but I had serious doubts that he could secure re-election.
Now, with Vice President Kamala Harris likely to be the Democratic nominee, the party has been reinvigorated and optimism has replaced despair. I hope that Biden has shared his considerable wisdom with Harris, and that she takes it to heart, as others of his admirers have over the years.
Breakfast barred
No breakfast review this week because Hannah needs the day to register for classes at Cal State Long Beach, which I can call my alma mater because I registered back in, I think, 1976 or 1977 and attended all my classes faithfully for one week, during which time I also had one story published in the university’s Daily 49er — I think it was a piece about spotting Tom Waits’ old Cadillac outside the Golden Bear and dropping into the club to check out his show. But perhaps not.
At any rate, I was majoring in journalism and had already nailed down a job at the Press-Telegram as a copy boy, so what was anyone going to teach me about journalism? I dropped out. My most advanced degree was an honorary Associate of Arts degree from Long Beach City College.
Anyway, I went without breakfast on Monday, so maybe next week.
On the schedule: Let’s Yolk About It in Belmont Shore. I’m pretty excited about it, even though I’m no fan of puns for restaurant names. Breakfast joints are no place for “Eggcellence.”