The ‘Dr.’ Will See You Now
Commentary
“Trelawney was always changing his style even his name, too, I believe, which is, of course, no more Trelawney than my own is. Nor does anyone know why he should be addressed as Doctor.” Anthony Powell, “
The Kindly Ones” (1962)
Joseph Epstein is indisputably one of America’s finest essayists. He is also one of the most wide-ranging.
He writes lively and companionable reconsiderations of such major writers as Matthew Arnold, Henry James, and George Santayana. These are intellectually substantial pieces whose learning is considerable but lightly worn.
He writes occasional essays after the fashion of a Mencken, a Macaulay, or a Montaigne. And he writes brief, timely op-eds whose hallmarks are humor, moral insight, and quiet humanity.
Joseph Epstein canceled
Those of us who view the college campus as a hotbed of Stalinism have a current case in point with Northwestern University’s treatment of long-time university lecturer Joseph Epstein, easily our most prominent essayist. Saturday’s Wall Street Journal carried Epstein’s humorous advisory “Is There a Doctor in the White House? Not if You Need an M.D.” Subhead: “Jill Biden should think about dropping the honorific, which feels fraudulent, even comic.”
As a result of his column, Northwestern first promptly turned Epstein into an unperson. Trotsky and Yezhov were “disappeared” on a slightly longer timeline.
By Nicki Jhabvala Washington Post
Cyrus Jones’s bags were packed, his cleats and unworn white jersey stuffed into an oversized navy duffel at the foot of his locker. The team’s charter flight to Buffalo was scheduled to depart that afternoon, and Jones, the newest Denver Bronco, was ready for his first game with 60-something teammates he only recently met.
But Jones never made it to New York. He never wore those cleats or that jersey. The doctor called later that day with news that changed everything.
“He told me I had an anomalous right coronary artery,” Jones said. “It’s congenital, but it’s just been missed my whole life. I was born with it, walking around with it, playing with it for 26 years.”
An NFL player s life-threatening heart defect went unnoticed for years Now he hopes to return lmtonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lmtonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.