as an exploratory journey through that old party question: if you could have a drink with anyone in history, who would it be? History is full of people you’d love to have a drink with. Let’s meet a few.
as an exploratory journey through that old party question: if you could have a drink with anyone in history, who would it be? History is full of people you’d love to have a drink with. Let’s meet a few.
Have a drink with: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Elementary, my dear Watson. Ask him about: ghosts In the early 1920s, folks in America were generally worn out, in a not unfamiliar way. The geopolitical situation was fraught in the wake of World War I, racial tension was high after the 1919 “Red Summer” race riots,…
Have a drink with: Glenn Miller Pennsylvania six-five-thousand! Ask him about: giving Sousa some swing Chances are, if I say “Glenn Miller,” something like “Moonlight Serenade” floats into your mind on cottony clouds, the dreamy musical equivalent of a Vaseline filter; or maybe it’s the sharp, perky big-band swing of “In the Mood.” Point is,…
Have a drink at: Your College Dining Hall Cabbage: now with extra protein! Discuss: FOOD FIGHT Today, a college’s dining hall is part of its overall outreach in the competition to attract students, and to keep them happy and achieving while they’re on campus. So much is put into the food and the architecture that…
Have a drink with: Henry Opukaha’ia Aloha oe. Ask him about: No pineapple on Pepe’s, right? We’ve talked before about how Connecticut has given the world a wide assortment of innovations, some good, some bad: speed limits, law schools and scary Puritan judges, sure, but also Pepe’s pizza, submarines, constitutional government (maybe?) and P.T. Barnum….
Have a drink with: The Committee of the Proprietors of Common and Undivided Lands at New Haven Say that one five times fast. Ask them about: Food trucks, church buildings and underground parking structures There are situations in which you are pleased to find your hometown has made national news. A horrific instance of mass…
Have a drink with: Sarah Winchester 40BR, 30BA; move-in ready! Ask her about: Extreme Home Makeover, Spectral Edition You’d be forgiven for thinking that the star of the recent suspense film Winchester is Helen Mirren. She is, after all, a certified badass; a superb actress; and well kitted out for the job in a dour…
Have a drink with: The Yale Medical School Class of 1824 Did you bring a shovel? Ask them about: Buying your own school supplies On a cold January morning almost 200 years ago in New Haven, Connecticut, someone came knocking on Jonathan Knight’s door. This itself was not necessarily unusual, as Knight had his thumb…
Have a drink with: New Haven Puritans Judge swung his fist down, plunk plunk… Ask them about: Anything but Quakers. It’s election season, which means we are faced with ample opportunity to confront our worst tendencies and unresolved problems as a society, along with the inevitable call to harken back to a better, simpler, more moral…
Have a drink with: Delia Bacon “…very wise in the doctrine of consequences.” Ask her about: fair and balanced journalism Once upon a time, two crazies went head-to-head in a public challenge. It was a deeply partisan fight marked by high emotions and questionable discretion, and in the end the loudmouthed, cowardly male nut job…
Have a drink with: John C. Calhoun The “cast-iron man,” nullifier, racist. Ask him about: getting into college Yale University recently announced that it would retain the name of 19th century politician and slavery advocate John C. Calhoun on one of its twelve undergraduate residential colleges. The decision has been broadly condemned: on Twitter, #FormerlyKnownAsCalhoun…
