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 Rich people, poor people
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| Sunset over the Hudson. 5:40 PM. Photo: JH. |
A beautiful day in New York for awhile there. Sun to brighten up our days, and fair weather. Later on in the day it returned to our routine grey and got colder. And Colder.
Rich people, poor people. William F. Buckley Jr. died yesterday in his 83rd year at his country house in Stamford, Connecticut. I didn’t know Mr. Buckley although I met him in passing a couple of times. I knew his late wife Pat just a little bit better because we had a close mutual friend — John Galliher (See List in Memoriam). Mrs. Buckley was a charmer; arch, droll, with a kind of zany presence which no doubt was presented to lighten things up. She was adored by her many friends, and to meet her was to want to know her. I was introduced to her husband a couple of times and each meeting was entirely perfunctory in terms of charm (none) and cordiality (none).
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| September 17th, 1974. Photos: Jill Krementz. |
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When I was a young man in the 1960s he loomed large and impressively on the so-called intellectual scene as viewed through the eyes of a college boy. It was well known that he was very religious (Roman Catholic) and very Conservative. He and Gore Vidal were arch-rivals and enjoyed or employed (or both) a lawsuit (I can’t remember who sued whom) that brought both of them a stream of national publicity and attention on the still relatively new medium of television.
I think, during a debate, after some shin-kicking-like goading, he opened fire and called Vidal a “goddamn queer” or something like that. Whatever it was, the acerbic and (could be) bitchy Vidal unnerved him thoroughly, or at least for the sake of the camera. In truth both boys came from privilege and were well educated. Both wrote and published successfully and with much fanfare. And both occupied specific ends (opposite) of the political spectrum, about which both felt they were right. Don’t we all? |
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Somewhere in those troubled (Viet Nam War) times I read a quote of Mr. Buckley’s about how the people in Harlem disposed of their garbage by “air-mailing” it from the nearest window. Whether he knew this from first hand experience or imagined it from first hand intolerance, I’m not sure but the remark was distinctly racist and, and made him appear, to put it , in his parlance — at least in my eyes — a bore.
His industriousness and his intellectual pursuits created a lasting memorial to his times and himself — the National Review. His television show was popular for years and not slightly because of his ability to speak frankly even if, albeit at times, insultingly of others. His career as a pundit, a writer, a novelist, was prolific, sometimes poetic in content, sometimes clever. He loved to write, to converse, to sail, and to drink. With his wife, and perhaps often because of his charming wife, his family wealth and media prominence notwithstanding, he retained a certain élan in New York social circles, sought after, even if mainly disinterested; and unfailingly curious about the political world around him. |
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He was at the beginning a rich man’s son. Unlike many rich men’s sons, he used his patrimony to cultivate and develop his own interests. His results was a most definite, and at times even powerful sphere of political interest and opinion. Late in his life he took up some opinions and even causes of the Liberal persuasion, arguing, for example, for the legalization of drugs as an alternative to this Orwellian gargoyle-like bureaucracy that rules today. He also became convinced that our foray into the Middle East, namely Iraq was an utter failure that should be put aside as soon as possible.
It was a good life, a long life, a life well lived, surrounded by legions of admirers and devoted friends, and productive by the man’s own standards. Another mutual friend, the distinguished photo-journalist Jill Krementz, has shared some of her photos of the man with us. |
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| Pat and William F. Buckley Jr. December, 1966. |
Others born to similar circumstances but slightly different: Last night I went to a cocktail party that Joy Ingham (See NYSD HOUSE) gave at her apartment for supporters of City Harvest, the very great charity that collects food all over the city at the end of each day (and the beginning of the next) and re-distributes it among those of us who need it and are often without enough funds to obtain what is needed. In other words: the hungry. City Harvest is an amazing project and every time I’m exposed to their work, I can’t help thinking that each and every one of us who has a spare buck (or ten or much much more) should donate to City Harvest. Waste not, want not could be its motto.
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Joy Ingham and Jilly Stephens |
Mrs. Ingham, like the aforementioned Mr. Buckley, is also the child of privilege and fortune. Also like Mr. Buckley she is a woman of definite and frequently expressed opinions, although she doesn’t write — except for letters and emails — and doesn’t appear on television, and doesn’t care what you think of what she thinks. In fact, among her outstanding characteristics is an outspokenness that is simply the result of telling you want she’s thinking at that pertinent moment. This is disarming for some, sometimes shocking for others, and endearing for those of us who love her.
Also unlike Mr. Buckley, she could not be characterized as religious, or political in her opinions. However, she has been a long time supporter — and working, hands-on supporter — of City Harvest. For years now, she’s done whatever she can do to rally the troops, to raise the funds, to cajole the bucks out of and away from them that has, to feed as many of us as possible who need. Last night in the middle of the cocktail party, Jilly Stephens, the Executive Director of City Harvest, stopped the cocktail party to thank everyone for attending and to thank Joy Ingham for not only having it at her apartment, but also for her long term commitment to the cause.
The business of feeding the hungry is a task that never lets up. In fact, in this current climate, which Ms. Stephens referred to as an “economic downturn,” it is getting to be a more difficult task for a variety of reasons — cost of transportation/fuel and at times a dwindling supply available to those in need. Many of us have no idea what it is like to go hungry because there is no food available. For those of us who do, it quickly becomes a matter of life or death, and a dreadful burden. Some of us are working at assisting and even solving that problem at all times. Joy Ingham is one of those.
You can help too. Visit: www.cityharvest.org |
Comments? Contact DPC here. |
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