A Touch of Politeness
After taking our order the waitress, a plain-faced country woman with a gimp knee, limped toward the kitchen.
David, a retired lawyer, sitting beside his son-in-law Kevin, leaning back, staring across the table at me, half laughed.
“I’m sad to say Kevin’s got his foot in politics.”
Round face, jaw set, Kevin grinned. “Can you believe that judge threw out Trump’s lawsuit against the New York Times – he’s a Bushie, a Washington insider, that’s why he threw Trump under the bus.”
The judge – Steven Merryday – had been appointed by George H. W. Bush – the first President Bush.
I asked David: “Did you read Trump’s lawsuit?”
He laughed. “No. I heard it’s almost 100 pages long – stopped there.”
Voice rising, Kevin said: “100 pages wouldn’t scratch the surface if Trump had to list every time he got smeared.”
“There’s a lot of anger in politics these days – that does harm. Give the judge credit for one thing: He was polite.”
Past seventy, thin-faced, narrow shoulders, Steven Merryday got a surprise when Trump sued the New York Times – the case landed on his desk.
In the lawsuit, Trump being Trump, rambling, told how his TV show The Apprentice had ‘captured the Zeitgeist of our time’ thanks to his ‘singular brilliance,’ how his beating Kamala Harris was ‘the greatest personal and political achievement in American history,’ went on to list the TV shows he’d been on like Saturday Night Live.
Four days later, responding, starting out by politely, Merryday praised Trump as a prominent, perhaps the most prominent American citizen – then dismissed his lawsuit. Then taking politeness a step further, opening a door for Trump, suggested he refile ‘a short plain statement’ simply spelling out what the Times had said about him that was wrong.
Merryday meant well. But politeness didn’t matter to Kevin. Stronger than politeness, anger didn’t stop.
(This is a roman à clef.)
*******
Telling stories, in his memoir Carter Wrenn follows The Trail of the Serpent twisting and turning through politics from Reagan to Trump. Order his book from Amazon.
A Touch of Politeness
After taking our order the waitress, a plain-faced country woman with a gimp knee, limped toward the kitchen.
David, a retired lawyer, sitting beside his son-in-law Kevin, leaning back, staring across the table at me, half laughed.
“I’m sad to say Kevin’s got his foot in politics.”
Round face, jaw set, Kevin grinned. “Can you believe that judge threw out Trump’s lawsuit against the New York Times – he’s a Bushie, a Washington insider, that’s why he threw Trump under the bus.”
The judge – Steven Merryday – had been appointed by George H. W. Bush – the first President Bush.
I asked David: “Did you read Trump’s lawsuit?”
He laughed. “No. I heard it’s almost 100 pages long – stopped there.”
Voice rising, Kevin said: “100 pages wouldn’t scratch the surface if Trump had to list every time he got smeared.”
“There’s a lot of anger in politics these days – that does harm. Give the judge credit for one thing: He was polite.”
Past seventy, thin-faced, narrow shoulders, Steven Merryday got a surprise when Trump sued the New York Times – the case landed on his desk.
In the lawsuit, Trump being Trump, rambling, told how his TV show The Apprentice had ‘captured the Zeitgeist of our time’ thanks to his ‘singular brilliance,’ how his beating Kamala Harris was ‘the greatest personal and political achievement in American history,’ went on to list the TV shows he’d been on like Saturday Night Live.
Four days later, responding, starting out by politely, Merryday praised Trump as a prominent, perhaps the most prominent American citizen – then dismissed his lawsuit. Then taking politeness a step further, opening a door for Trump, suggested he refile ‘a short plain statement’ simply spelling out what the Times had said about him that was wrong.
Merryday meant well. But politeness didn’t matter to Kevin. Stronger than politeness, anger didn’t stop.
(This is a roman à clef.)
*******
Telling stories, in his memoir Carter Wrenn follows The Trail of the Serpent twisting and turning through politics from Reagan to Trump. Order his book from Amazon.