Quote of the Day (Calvin Trillin, Imagining an Alumni Note From the Class of ’93)

“More good news from one of the legal beagles of the class: Clem Howard writes from Oregon that, upon appeal, his disbarment has been reduced to what he describes as ‘a strong censure with conditions,’ which will allow his law practice to continue. The principal condition is that when he meets with a female client a third party must be in the room. Clem writes, ‘I can certainly live with that condition, particularly if the third party is a chick of considerable hotness.’”—American journalist-humorist Calvin Trillin, with alumni news from “The Class of ’93,” in “Shouts and Murmurs: Class Notes,” The New Yorker, Sept. 9, 2019

(Photo of Calvin Trillin taken at a discussion at Dartmouth College, February 2011.)

Quote of the Day (Calvin Trillin, on Why ‘The English Talk So Funny’)

“I think the Europeans are hostile toward the English because the English have some irritating habits--the habit, for instance, of ending sentences with questions that sound like reprimands: ‘You say it's difficult for you to tell because you haven't read the survey? Well, you'll have to read it, then, won't you?’ See how snotty that sounds?

“Why do the English talk so funny? For one thing, they're all hard of hearing. All Englishmen are hard of hearing. That's why they end a lot of sentences with questions--just to check and make sure the other fellow heard what they were saying ... That's why they're always saying, ‘I say!’ It gives the other fellow a warning that they're about to say something, and then he knows to tune in.”—American journalist and humorist Calvin Trillin, Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin: Forty Years of Funny Stuff (2011)

(Photo of Calvin Trillin taken at a discussion at Dartmouth College, February 2011.)

Quote of the Day (Calvin Trillin, on Boycotting the Word ‘Holistic’)

“I've decided to skip 'holistic'. I don't know what it means, and I don't want to know. That may seem extreme, but I followed the same strategy toward 'Gestalt' and the 'Twist', and lived to tell the tale.”—Humorist, New Yorker contributor, poet, and memoirist Calvin Trillin, Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin: Forty Years of Funny Stuff (2011)

(Photo of Calvin Trillin taken at a discussion at Dartmouth College, February 2011.)

Quote of the Day (Calvin Trillin, on Why ‘All Thumbs’ Is Losing Meaning)

“I noticed the teenager, who was sitting across from me, texting with blinding speed. As his thumbs danced over the tiny screen, I realized that ‘all thumbs’ cannot much longer mean clumsy with one's hands. And I realized how much I’m going to miss it. It has always seemed to me a way of noting a deficit without being vicious about it — a description of the bumbling sitcom dad who tries to fiddle with a circuit breaker and plunges the entire house into darkness. But how can that man be labeled all thumbs if the teenager sitting across from me can use his thumbs on his smartphone fast enough to take dictation from a cattle auctioneer?”— Calvin Trillin, “Essay: Unplanned Obsolescence,” The New York Times Book Review, Dec. 31, 2017

(Photo of Calvin Trillin taken at a discussion at Dartmouth College, February 2011.)

Quote of the Day (Calvin Trillin, on Skyscraper Restaurants)

"I never eat in a restaurant that’s over a hundred feet off the ground and won’t stand still.” —American journalist, humorist, and gourmand Calvin Trillin, American Fried: Adventures of a Happy Eater (1974)

(Photo of Calvin Trillin taken at a discussion at Dartmouth College, February 2011.)

Quote of the Day (Calvin Trillin, on Self-Analysis)

“We decided to spend a few minutes analyzing our motives—something we often do when there's nothing good on television.”—Calvin Trillin, Esquire, "A Day at the Spaces," April 1977 

(Photo of Calvin Trillin taken at a discussion at Dartmouth College, February 2011.)