Paper Chase – Today’s column in the Duluth Reader

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A NOTE FOR SUBSTACK READERS

I only occasionally proof read my blog with any diligance. Like Trump’s once famous tweets they can be pretty spontaneous. For the Reader, the Duluth Reader, I make an attempt to clean them up. The paper’s editor Jim Lundstrom is grossly overworked and has done his best to keep oxford commas out of my copy. When I wade into his first love, American movies, I tread softly. When I raised the subject of John Houseman I should have expected close scrutiny. In our region of 150,000 people there can only be a dozen or less who know the subject as well as Jim. In fact, Jim spent a day with Houseman years ago. My fact checking by Jim was scrupulous. Because Harvard was the subtext related to President Trump’s bullying I submitted the sign I painted and referenced in the beginning of my column. Jim chose to replace it with a portrait of the actor Houseman. I have no objections but I am inserting my sign here below that of the Oscar winner.

The Nots

When I began the column 25 years ago I titled it Not Eudora. Eudora Welty is a southern regionalist short story writer of some renown. She had a story in my freshman lit book. Since I too am a Welty I thought it would be mildly amusing to renounce any link with her. I was not Eudora.

That was then. Since I began challenging our very unLincoln-like, Trump deep throat, Congressman Stauber, I had the Reader change the NOT to Not Your Usual Republican.

Substackers, I only rarely put my full Reader columns in Lincolndemocrat.com. Since they put the Reader at risk of a Trump lawsuit I figure the least I can do is direct readers to their site.


John Houseman in his Paper Chase role.

Paper Chase
It begins:

My daughter, who is proving to be the teacher my friends once told me I could be, has a super power. It’s networking. She put it to good use last week as Denfeld’s theater adviser asking me me to paint a sign for their sold-out musical Legally Blonde. If you missed it, that’s your loss. It knocked my socks off.
I told my grandson, who got a leading role, without his mother’s help, “Hell, I’d marry you and I wasn’t on the witness stand.”

That’s an inside joke for anyone who saw the production. Read the rest at the Reader. Here

About the author

Harry is a ferociously good natured eccentric in Duluth Minnesota who detests traitors dressed up as Uncle Sam. You can find somewhat better edited writings of his at the Duluth Reader "contributors." page. The URL is:

https://duluthreader.com/contributors/h/84/284-harry-welty