Not many people cry when they watch the U.S. Open golf tournament, but I do. My dad lived 15 miles from Shinnecock Hills on Long Island where the Open was played last week. It was also being played there in 1995 when my dad died. I was in New York in 1995 to see the golf tournament. As luck would have it, I just happened to be there with my dad when he passed away suddenly, on Father’s Day.
Much of the inspiration for my book Impromptu Friday Nights comes from my father who was a College dean and communications professor. In an early life dad had been an actor and directed plays. He used to say that actors had it made: They were never out of work or unemployed, “They were between engagements”. Translated, it sounded good. When I retired I decided that it sounded better to say I was writing a book versus the truth that I was retired and played a lot of golf.
The irony is that my dad who could really write never really got published. (Watch out Sigmund Freud.) His major efforts were as a speechwriter for friends who were politicians. He did a lot of writing for his childhood friend John Marchi who was state senator in New York for 50 years and had ran unsuccessfully for mayor of New York City twice. Most notably losing to John V. Lindsay a debonair politician with a patrician manner in 1969. Another irony was that Marchi was a conservative Republican and my dad was a liberal Democrat, but I digress. A few years ago in Marchi’s obituary the New York Times slammed and complemented my dad in one sentence by saying: “The senator, who often came across as thoughtful but not an artful phrasemaker, (A slam to his speechwriter) surprised supporters, remarking that Mr. Lindsay harbored “delusions of adequacy.” (Definitely dad’s line)
I can remember my dad and Marchi laughing over the phone discussing Lindsay who was a liberal, handsome, bon vivant “Yaley” versus Marchi’s image as the practical, hardworking, New York City conservative. The truth is that whenever dad and John got together, there was laughter involved.
Getting back to Impromptu Friday Nights – A Guide to Supper Clubs. My real goal for this book is to provide young professionals and any other demographic with a roadmap to have fun with supper clubs. Hopefully, it will also generate a chuckle of two. If you don’t find my writing funny, you can blame my father because: Apples Don’t Fall Far From Trees.
If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are sold.