It's been a difficult week for those of us still clinging to a belief in true cultural heroes. We've lost a Nobel laureate, Derek Walcott, the Poet of the Caribbean, and Chuck Berry the Creator of rock 'n' roll. It's said that death comes "in threes," so with both sadness and a smile, let's fondly remember the most colorful American journalist and writer, Jimmy Breslin.
Although known for both tender and scathing observations, the Pulitzer Prize winner seemed humble at times. Yet the clarity never wavered even as he occasionally released a hint about himself. In his biography of Damon Runyon, another legendary New Yorker, Jimmy Breslin commented on his own successful long run as a columnist for the NY Herald Tribune. The lines stand as good advice not only for aspiring writers, but for anybody in love with life:
"I am so delighted with myself that I could sing a song And you better do the same thing. For if you do not blow your own horn, there is no music."
--Jimmy Breslin
(October 17, 1928-March 19, 2017)
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/19/b...st-author.html