Quote of the Day (Archie Manning, on Why He’s Humble)

“I'm pretty humble. Of course, if you play quarterback for the Saints for twelve years, you've got no reason to be anything but humble.” —Retired New Orleans Saints quarterback (and father of two other retired QBs) Archie Manning, quoted in “What I’ve Learned: Archie Manning,” Esquire, January 2014

I vividly recall Joe Namath, whose career overlapped with Manning’s, saying that it was the latter’s misfortune to play for a team nicknamed “The New Orleans Aints.”

Let me put it another way: despite being picked second overall in the NFL draft as a rookie and earning two Pro Bowl selections, Manning retired having never played on a team with a winning record or that made the playoffs.

It sounds like Peyton and Eli share their father’s ability to laugh at themselves. Grandson Arch will undoubtedly need it if or when he transitions from the college ranks to the pros.

(The image accompanying this post, of Archie Manning attempting a pass during a Nov. 2, 1980 away game against the Los Angeles Rams, was taken from the 1980 NFL season and re-published in 1986 for the “Jeno's Pizza” football card set. The QB was under great pressure—a common occurrence during his time in New Orleans.)

Quote of the Day (John F. Kennedy, With Thoughts on a Prior Veterans Day)

“No man who witnessed the tragedies of the last war, no man who can imagine the unimaginable possibilities of the next war, can advocate war out of irritability or frustration or impatience….Let us pray in the name of those who have fought in this country's wars, and most especially who have fought in the First World War and in the Second World War, that there will be no veterans of any further war—not because all shall have perished but because all shall have learned to live together in peace.”—U.S. President—and World War II veteran—John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), “Remarks at the Veterans Day Ceremony,” Arlington National Cemetery, Nov. 11, 1961

TV Quote of the Day (‘M*A*S*H,’ With a Great Star Turn by Susan Saint James)

Aggie O’Shea, reporter [played by Susan Saint James]: “I like the way you are with the boys in post-op. “

Captain Dr. B.J. Hunnicutt [played by Mike Farrell]: “Thank you.”

Aggie: “There’s a certain gentleness about you in the midst of all this craziness that’s very attractive, and…Can I be direct?”

B.J. [smiling]: “Please, I hate the way you beat around the bush!”

Aggie: “Well, you haven’t said or done anything that can remotely be considered a pass, despite all the openings I’ve given you. I don’t know whether to be flattered or insulted.”

B.J. [confused]: “I feel like I’m about three feet over my head.”

Aggie: “Just relax and gloat.”

B.J. “Hey, you’re really something.”

Aggie: “Oh, let’s not lose control.”

B.J. “Oh, you want direct.”

Aggie: “Yeah.”

B.J.: “You’re one of the most…You’re an extraordinarily attractive woman, but…”

Aggie: “Hold it right there. Back up one. Go over that first part again, up to the ‘but’.”

B.J. “You’re an extraordinarily attractive woman.”

Aggie: “Thank you. As for the second part, I think I know what ‘but’ means, so I’ll quit while I’m ahead.”—M*A*S*H, Season 8, Episode 23, “War Co-Respondent,” original air date Mar. 3, 1980, written and directed by Mike Farrell

Over its 12-year run, M*A*S*H featured many notable guest stars. But few made as great an impact, or were as fondly recalled, as Susan Saint James, who died late last month at age 80 of pancreatic cancer.

The actress had not yet landed her co-starring role in the sitcom Kate and Allie, but she had already become a favorite of TV viewers in The Name of the Game and McMillan and Wife.

At the time of the episode’s premiere, younger viewers of the series might not have realized that Saint James’ character—with her Irish-sounding first and last names, globetrotting journalism assignments, and considerable physical allure—was modeled on Marguerite Higgins, who had achieved the height of her fame with her Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Korean War but has faded into history after her death, at only age 46, in 1966. (See my post about the journalist six years ago, on the centenary of her birth.)

Mike Farrell had already worked with Saint James on the TV movie Sex and the Single Parent, so when it came time to cast O’Shea, he knew from that project and her previous work that Saint James would perfectly fit the intelligent, free-spirited, vivacious character.

Inevitably, film and TV fans of a certain age find themselves wishing that a long-retired star will somehow find a material that will lure them in front of the cameras again and remind you all over again of the shining talent they displayed in their youth. 

For me, Saint James was one such luminary. After Kate and Allie ended its run in the late 1980s, she largely concentrated on her family—an emphasis reinforced by the tragic death of a teenage son in a 2004 jet crash.

After her death, I saw dozens of tributes to her, from co-workers to just ordinary people who met her by chance. All confirmed that she was down-to-earth, warm-hearted, and deeply kind.

But the most succinct summary of her might have been offered by her old co-star Farrell, who wrote: “Goodbye, Susan. You were a remarkable talent, a beautiful soul, and a cherished part of television history.”

Quote of the Day (Rob Lowe, on Warren Beatty’s Foolproof Line)

"There it is. The lay-down hand. The line that would turn any young actress into his personal concubine for life."—American film and TV actor Rob Lowe, with his thought when Warren Beatty told the up-and-coming star’s then-girlfriend back in 1983 that she reminded him of Natalie Wood, in Love Life (2014)

(The image accompanying this post of Warren Beatty, taken by an uncredited photographer for Globe, appeared in the December 1961 issue of Photoplay—just before the young actor started dating Natalie Wood.)

Spiritual Quote of the Day (Brian McLaren, on Rediscovering ‘Our Identity as Children of God’)

“Will we give birth to new traditions from old traditions? There is a world waiting to be born with an identity in the divine community. We can rediscover our identity as children of God. May something new be born from our traditions. May something new be born.”— Rev. Brian McLaren quoted by Mary Lee Talbot, “Morning Worship: Present Darkness Could Bring Forth New Birth, New Traditions, Preaches McLaren,” The Chautauquan Daily, Aug. 22, 2025

The image accompanying this post, of Rev. Brian McLaren at the lecture “Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha and Mohammed Cross the Road?,” in the 2012 Wild Goose Festival, was taken June 22, 2012, by James Willamor.

Quote of the Day (Ian Frazier, on Putin and the Influence of Lenin’s Tactics at Home and in the U.S.)

“Unlike Marxism-Leninism, [Soviet dictator V.I.] Lenin’s tactics enjoy excellent health today. In a capitalist Russia, [Vladimir] Putin favors his friends, holds power closely and doesn’t compromise with rivals. In America, too, we’ve reached a point in our politics where the strictest partisanship rules. Steve Bannon, the head of the right-wing media organization Breitbart News, who went on to be an adviser to the president, told a reporter in 2013, ‘I’m a Leninist...I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy today’s establishment.’ Of course he didn’t mean he admired Lenin’s ideology—far from it—but Lenin’s methods have a powerfully modern appeal. Lenin showed the world how well not compromising can work. A response to that revolutionary innovation of his has yet to be figured out.”—American writer and humorist Ian Frazier, “What Ever Happened to the Russian Revolution?,” Smithsonian Magazine, October 2017

In the wake of the midterms, cries of “reaching across the aisle to work for the good of the country” sound a bit less tinny now than they have in the past decade.

Still, it’s unlikely that much will come of this sentiment. Changes in campaigning and governance—dating back not just to Donald Trump, but even to Newt Gingrich holding sway on Capitol Hill in the 1990s—militate against that.

If there is any hope for bipartisanship, that may come in how Congress forces a change in administration policy regarding Ukraine.

It remains highly suspicious why Donald Trump watered down a proposed plank in the 2016 Republican Party platform on military aid to that embattled country, let alone why he has been so autocrat-friendly towards Putin since then.

If the GOP is serious about entering a more chastened, post-Trump era, its members in the House and Senate can start by reversing the President’s rank appeasement of the Russian dictator.

Will they start singing “Kumbaya” with the victorious Democrats now? Hardly. But aiding Volodymyr Zelenskyy would be an excellent way to work for the common good abroad—and in a way that will enhance American security at home.

Joke of the Day (Bill Maher, on How To Tell If You’re in a ‘Too-Boozy Administration’)

“If everybody does a shot every time the Strait of Hormuz opens back up.”—American comedian Bill Maher, in an April appearance on Real Time With Bill Maher, quoted by Benoit Denizet-Lewis, “Bill Maher Feuded With Trump. Did He Get the Last Laugh?”, The New York Times Magazine, July 21, 2026

Maher might want to amend that joke. This week, amid the midterm election debacle, everybody in the administration must have done a shot after every GOP seat lost in the Senate…in the House of Representatives…in governor’s mansions…and, maybe now, among White House staffers.

I’m sure these rounds were led by Pete Kegseth.

(The photo of Bill Maher accompanying this post was taken by David Shankbone, November 2007, at the PETA screening of I Am An Animal: The story of Ingrid Newkirk and PETA.)