October 25, 1999 Volume 11, Number 67
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Marietta College, Marietta Ohio, 45750
- Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou… Political writers across the entire globe are saying prayers of thanks that Donald Trump and Pat Buchanan have decided to join the Reform party. Trump is quoted as saying the Republicans are "too crazy right" which is why he is leaving the GOP.
- Being able to instantly identify "too crazy" appears to have been a founding requisite for running for the Reform Party nomination.
- Speaking of which, Pat Buchanan is scheduled, this morning, to announce he, too, is seeking the Reform party nomination. An early report that Buchanan would be making his announcement in Leipzig to honor the birthplace of Richard Wagner was, regrettably, in error.
- Buchanan said he would be joining the Reform party because "the Washington elite of the GOP has left me." As has, apparently, the ability to formulate a coherent rationale.
- Here's a shocker. Two weeks ago, there were wire stories about the embarrassing lack of success the Clintons are having raising the $125 million necessary for the Clinton Presidential Library in Arkansas. Last week the Clintons hosted an event at the White House for the nouveau e-riche class of internet entrepreneurs to get their thoughts on how their philanthropic itches might best be scratched.
- Sap Alert! I went back to my alma mater for homecoming this past weekend. Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio. It was wonderful to see people who, 30 years later, may have had more weight, more wrinkles, and less hair but had exactly the same amount of warmth, fun, and capacity for strong drink.
- Most colleges try to schedule a patsy for its homecoming opponent. Not my scrappy little school, boy. They scheduled Mt. Union College which last week set the NCAA record for consecutive wins by a college football team in ANY division. Marietta, by comparison, once held the NCAA record for consecutive LOSSES by a team playing football in any era, at any level, in any league which does not require you to pull a ribbon from your opponent's belt.
- Early Sunday morning I drove across the river to the boathouse where the crews are housed. A regatta was scheduled which included some thirty high school and college races. Dozens of young men and women were adjusting rigging, examining oars, and trying to get and stay warm in the early morning chill.
- I strolled, alone, into the section of the boathouse where the long, sleek eight-oared shells are kept. I had spent many, many hours with those boats as a kid when I was the coxswain of the freshman crew. I rested my palms on the hull of an old wooden shell we had used regularly but which long since has been retired from racing. I remembered beating Georgetown twice in one day, beating Notre Dame, and losing, by a fraction of a boat length, to Northeastern in the championships. I remembered nine young men. Eight very strong, very dedicated athletes and me. It was a good crew. It was a good boat. It was a nice moment.
- I used to diet down to 118 lbs. for races. My head and ego alone now weigh more than that.
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