 Flo: In her early motorcycle phase Whenever these three great articles were -- imagined? assigned? written? spawned? -- could writer or editor have imagined them materializing on one Thanksgiving weekend screaming for a coda of peaceful and gratifying reading? This is exactly what happened to this reader, after a lovely run of children, spouses, grandchildren and friends. I settled down for a quiet morning of going through The Times and the New Yorker and came away with enough depressing news, well handled, but also found three lengthy articles that demanded full attention. All three articles are written by women, about singular women, whose work has captivated me over the years. (I recognize not everybody can get over the paywall of these two great publications, but many can qualify for X number of freebies per month. I urge you to try. Meantime, here is my enthusiastic summation.) Everybody Knows Flo From Progressive. Who is Stephanie Courtney? By Caity Weaver in the NYT Sunday Magazine I was a Flo fan the first time she emerged on the television, wearing her white outfit and a knowing smile, maybe even a wink. She was selling Progressive Insurance – I tend to forget brand names from commercials – but she was also selling herself. I’m in control. I know stuff. Some of her best work was done in the presence of men and motorcycles. (obviously to appeal to motorcycle drivers, which I am not, but I admire people who va-room on the open road.) Flo (I have to be reminded that her name is Stephanie Courtney) reminded me of one of the great bits in the movie “Something Wild,” when bad-girl Melanie Griffith utters something lewd to a motorcycle cop (the writer-director-actor, John Sayles.) Okay, Flo caught my “attention,” and I became a fan of the commercials, including the three sidekicks (mentioned in the NYT but not named) – a goofy guy, a whiny woman, and a stable brother. They mostly play off Flo, as she makes snarky comments off in a corner, and all are welcome in a world of annoying commercials. Writer Caity Weaver goes light on biographical material but provides heartwarming description of how this comedy-club also-ran improvised her way into what seems to be a fortune. (check out the caviar anecdote.) For anybody curious about how films/commercials are done, Weaver also provides lavish info on a shoot in a frequently-used home in the LA region – lights and electric cords and snacks for the workers. I have a friend who rents her house near the beach for TV shoots. I know more than I did about this world. But basically, I also know more about the now-rich woman with the knowing smile who can materialize on my screen any time she wants. *** https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/11/27/a-friend-died-with-her-novel-unfinished-could-i-realize-her-vision The New Yorker materializes in most weeks, and also pops up on the Web, with experts and timely reporting from hideous parts of the world (Hamas, Trump, climate, etc.) The magazine has morphed from a fey weekly to a daily e-necessity, under the guidance of David Remnick, a friend from sportswriting days (tapas in Barcelona during the 1992 Olympics), later a reporter in Moscow, and now a most obviously un-Ross, un-Shawn editor of the New Yorker. Congratulations, David. The Nov. 27 issue materialized with the cover depicting eight folks around an urban apartment dining room (view of the Empire State Building behind the celebrants) eight glittering color screens amid the remains of turkey, wine, candles. “That’s me!” blurted our grand-daughter, Anjali, who on Thanksgiving took part in a memorable dinner for 17 – 17! – prepared by two adults with very demanding jobs. The elder table had a lot of talking. The younger table materialized into the New Yorker cover of one of the best editions, ever, if you ask me (Zadie Smith! David Sedaris! Roz Chast!) One captivating article “Ghost, Writer,” was by Leslie Jamison, a writer who was asked by her dying friend, Rebecca Godfrey, to complete a copious fictional biography of the art doyenne, Peggy Guggenheim. Godfrey leaving left specific instructions and references for Jamison, challenging her to convert them, including a Rosebud cluster of final words. The book aside, Jamison surely immortalizes her dead friend, also giving a sketch of a real biographer at full tilt.  Photo, Nicholas Calcott, 2023. Brooklyn Museum. Just before the Jamison article is:
Joyce Carol Oates’s Relentless, Prolific Search for a Self by Rachel Aviv I knew I would be fascinated by the article because I once was fascinated by Joyce Carol Oates herself, in a brunch interview (me, of her.) Oates had just issued a book about boxing and I was writing a sports column for the NYT (remember sports columns in the NYT? This is what they were like.) https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/04/sports/sports-of-the-times-a-heavy-weight-looks-at-boxing.html?unlocked_article_code=1.BU0.3IKu.2xDusXfh_jjr&smid=url-share Oates was fascinated by boxing. I love boxers…but I hate boxing, what it does to people’s brains. We sparred over coffee and bagels, or whatever, and I was sorry when the interview ended. Since then, I have toyed with the NYT book review staple in which writers are asked what three writers they would invite for dinner. A lot of writers, being writers, mooch a fourth guest. Nobody is ever going to ask me that question for the Book Review but I have my answer prepared: William Shakespeare (what about that painting in the National Portrait Gallery?), Jesus Christ (not a writer, perhaps, but a Jewish preacher), Thomas Wolfe (who taught me to read, and think, and care) and Joyce Carol Oates because…well, because. Oates was complicated, and she remains complicated in the lengthy “Personal Statement” by Rachel Aviv in the current New Yorker. I’m not even going to try to summarize. I just know I read every word, and urge others to do the same. *** Note: I just glanced again at the New Yorker’s table of contents. Barbra Streisand’s book, by Rachel Syme. A book review by Thomas Mallon. An essay by Hilton Als. A review of the Bernstein movie, by Anthony Lane. Still a few hours left for reading at the end of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Marty Appel
11/26/2023 03:35:35 pm
I am good friends with "Flo's" agent (a great Yankees historian), and I can tell you she has kept his agency thriving for a long time. And he says Stephanie is really nice as well. A good story.
GV
11/26/2023 05:55:24 pm
Marty, thanks. Sometimes a star is not a hero to the agent. But "Flo" comes off as a person with her head and heart on right GV
Walter Schwartz
11/26/2023 05:46:35 pm
Here's a reading recommendation I would highly recommend adding to George's trio: It's the lead story in today's NYTimes Metropolitan section, titled, "On Arrival, Greeted With Cookies--A Holocaust refugee contrasts his welcome to New York [in 1950] with what migrants face today," and is written by one of the few long surviving great Times' journalists, Joseph Berger, whom I had the privilege of meeting serendipitously at a local diner several years ago and becoming an instant fan. I previously read Berger's "Displaced persons: Growing Up American After the Holocaust," and his "The World in a City--Traveling Through the Neighborhoods of the New New [sic] York" sits high on my book shelf. But this current article brought new meaning because of the present immigrant crises not only in New York City but elsewhere. I'd even call it a "must" reading. Hats off to Joe and to George!
GV
11/26/2023 05:57:09 pm
Chief, thanks for noting Joe Berger's article. I have that section right here....hope to get back to NYT this evening, Joe has been a great asset to the NYT, including in retirement. best, GV
Altenir Silva
11/26/2023 06:03:23 pm
Dear George,
GV
11/28/2023 08:43:21 am
Hi, Altenir: well, there were a bunch of us, as I recall, David with the WaPo, before the finals of the weight-lifting -- involving the so'called Pocket Hercules. Some tapas place right across from the weight-lifting venue. But that is just my memory from, good grief, 31 years ago. The camaraderie at Olympics -- and World Cup soccer -- forms some of my finest memories. GV
bruce
11/26/2023 09:25:24 pm
george,
GV
11/28/2023 08:48:36 am
Bruce, well, let me say, liking boxing is a far more socially redeemable trait than liking the distemperered lout who grew up half a mile from me in Queens. I enjoyed meeting boxers like Joe Frazier and Ali and Alexis Arguello and Floyd Patterson -- and so many backstage gym regulars. Hardly a comparison with the vicious horde of Jan 6, 2021...and the buffoons in the House of Rep. GV
Joshua Rubin
11/27/2023 10:27:08 am
I recently heard David Remnick interviewed on On the Media. His "yes, and" take on all of the traumas and political crosscurrents in Israel and Gaza right now is spot on.
GV
11/28/2023 08:50:04 am
Josh, good to hear from you. I missed the Remnick interview but his writing and commentary always make sense to me. BEst, GV 11/27/2023 02:40:32 pm
I'm always pleased whenever women in general, but particular those in history are publicly praised. Over the years I have taught several courses on women in espionage, specializing of those in France during WWII. British PM Churchill relished the clandestine group SOE (special operations executive) with the goal of creating havoc in France. Much of their work was a state secret until recently.
GV
11/28/2023 09:06:39 am
Alan, great to hear from you...and Josh....and recently, Jen, Comments are closed.
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