Writing Is The Hardest Work In The

One Thing Is Certain: For Many Of Those Who Came Back From Wwii, The Music Of Frank Sinatra Was No Consolation For Their Losses. Some Had Lost Friends. Some Had Lost Wives And Lovers. All Had Lost Portions Of Their Youth. More Important To The Sinatra Career The Girls Started Marrying The Men Who Came Home. Bobby Socks Vanished From Many Closets. The Girls Who Wore Them Had No Need Anymore For Imaginary Lovers; They Had Husbands. Nothing Is More Embarrassing To Grownups Than The Passions Of Adolescence, And For Many, Frank Sinatra Was The Passion.

The Culture Of Drink Endures Because It Offers So Many Rewards: Confidence For The Shy, Clarity For The Uncertain, Solace To The Wounded And Lonely, And Above All, The Elusive Promises Of Friendship And Love.

It's Odd Being An American Now. Most Of Us Are Peaceful, But Here We Are Again, In Our Fifth Major War Of This Century.

I Don't Ask For The Meaning Of The Song Of A Bird Or The Rising Of The Sun On A Misty Morning. There They Are, And They Are Beautiful.

Don't Tell Me About The World. Not Today. It's Springtime And They're Knocking Baseball Around Fields Where The Grass Is Damp And Green In The Morning And The Kids Are Trying To Hit The Curve Ball.