Over the weekend I went to Rochester, New York to attend the graduation of one of my nephews. He received his doctorate in pharmacy.
The keynote speaker, apparently a last minute replacement for the chap who was scheduled to be the keynote speaker, was the senior senator from New York, Charles Schumer. He was a confident and reasonably entertaining speaker. Mostly he talked about himself, not terribly surprising for a U. S. senator.
He told us that his first job was operating a mimeograph machine in a very small, closed room. I think this may explain a lot. If you’re old enough to remember mimeographs, you probably know what I mean.
He also explained that he couldn’t hack it as a lawyer so he became a politician. I’m paraphrasing but that was the upshot of what he said. I think that’s something worth remembering. Although most senators are, by education, lawyers, not all of them are good lawyers. Not all of them are successful lawyers. There are some successful lawyers, e.g. John Edwards had been a very successful plaintiff’s attorney before he went into politics. But many of the senators and representatives who are nominally lawyers did not attend top law schools, passed the bar but never practiced law or practiced only briefly (ask a lawyer: you don’t learn to be a lawyer at school), and are actually career politicians.
BTW, the upstate New York countryside is beautiful at this time of year and increasingly dotted with small wineries. Some day I hope to take a more leisurely trip and check some of them out.
If you’re old enough to remember mimeographs, you probably know what I mean.
There’s a quick scene in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” about that!
Thanks for bringing back a fond memory – the Phoebe Cates pool scene.
Yeah, there’s nothing quite like getting caught by Phoebe Cates while jerking off in a pirate costume!
…
What, that wasn’t the part you meant?
Haha!
Some of the wineries in upstate NY are good, but we have found the ones in Canada, jus north of Niagara, to be a bit better.
Steve
The last time I had been in upstate New York was five or six years ago. This time I was very much struck by the number of wineries that have sprung up in New York north of the Finger Lakes, in Pennsylvania, and in Ohio. It’s an interesting development.
My impression is that the growth in the number of small, new wineries in the Finger Lakes over the years has contributed to the improving in the quality of the wine produced there. That’s certainly been the case in the wine-producing areas of Missouri with which I’ve been familiar for the last 40 years.
Sorry you got the whirlwind tour of Lake Ontario to Honeoye Lake!!! Regarding our taste in furniture – funny how siblings on opposite ends of the birth order can end up with similar taste – even in furniture!!
Also, Niagara wineries have been producing superior wines in comparison to those from Seneca Lake. But actually, Cayuga wines are doing very well right now. It just depends on the year. Thanks for the visit!!!