A colleague and I were having lunch today with Tom Davis, whose title I’m always forgetting but who was described in a recent news story as "the governor’s deputy chief of staff and his top liaison to the
General Assembly" (see why I forget it?).
Most of it dealt with the rough couple of weeks he had had with the blowup between Gov. Sanford
and House Republicans over his spending cap, and the defeat Sanford forces suffered over the billboard issue.
But it strayed when he admired my discipline (after all, it’s a Friday in Lent, and he and I are both Catholic) in not only abstaining from meat, but forgoing dessert. Unwilling to take undeserved praise, I reminded him of my severe food allergies, and he said something about how I was kind of like Meg Ryan’s fiance in "Sleepless in Seattle." I suppose that’s right. (You ever notice how often allergies and asthma are used in the movies as shorthand to indicate weakness of character or lack of attractiveness as a mate, which is how it was used in this one — completely at odds with my own experience, I might add? Let a character take a quick puff on an inhaler, and you know that sooner or later, he will be found wanting.)
Anyway, Tom (shown above, in a photo that doesn’t do justice to his Pullmanesque qualities, but is the only picture I have) then mentioned something about that character having been played by Bill Pullman. At that point, I exercised great restraint by not observing how much Tom looks like that actor. I was proud of myself. I mean, you never know — Tom might have been insulted. I would never, ever wish to embarrass him or make him feel awkward in public over such a trifle.
Of course, the blog is another matter.
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Brad, He should pay you to lose that photo. Rather than Tom Hanks, I think he looks more like Wilson. Seriously, he does.
See Castaways!
This post, unrelated to the subject, is a “truth in posting” post. Here is a London School of Economics research study showing federal spending in each state per capita. The results of a few:
VA – $7636 per person
MA – $6112 per person
SC – $4815 per person
WI – $3942 per person
with VA the biggest collector of fed monies and WI the lowest. Note the greedy people of Taxachussets near the top of the federal pig trough.
See
London School of Econ Study from 1982 to 2000!
Not Tom Hanks, Bill Pullman. Hanks got the girl in the end, Pullman was the nice guy she dumped.
Not that I’m an expert on chick flicks or anything.
Actually, the one part of that movie I remember as being my favorite was the bit when Hanks and another guy are making fun of chick flicks (kind of ironic in a prime example of the genre), and they start talking about movies that make guys cry, and they both break down while talking about the climax of "The Dirty Dozen," when Jim Brown gets machine-gunned sprinting across the chateau’s courtyard after throwing grenades down the ventilator shafts.
Speaking of which, you may not believe it, but the novel upon which "The Dirty Dozen" is based was really very good (although hard to find; you’d probably have to rummage through quite a few used paperback shops to get one — or take your chances ordering it over the Internet). Since it’s probably the first "grown-up" novel I ever read (I was 14), it has remained a sentimental favorite. In fact, I often use it as an illustration of the fact that while I read very slowly (a bit of a handicap in my profession), I tend to have an absurdly thorough memory of what I’ve read. I’m always telling people I can still name all twelve of the Dozen from the book. I haven’t had to prove it yet, because no one ever takes me up on it.
Dang! I just tried it, and in a minute or so, only came up with 11. I’ll keep thinking about it while I go out and do yard work and stuff. And I WON’T go look at the tattered copy of the book that is just yards away from me as I type this. I WON’T.
My blog debut and I am compared to a made-up volleyball in “Cast Away.” Ugh!
Tom, Look at the positives on the comparison. Thick skin (leather?), resilient, able to withstand violent hits and bounce right back, and keep on smiling. In fact, all of those attributes hopefully will work to advance the governor’s agenda. If the governor would just get a small amount of support and cooperation from the GOP, this state could show some real progress. It is a shame the legislature is loaded with an abundance of the status quo keepers.
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