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Ben Stein's Diary
In and Out of the Snow
Remember the record snows of last winter? Our Diarist does.
(Page 2 of 3)
I LOVE MY APARTMENT AT THE WATERGATE!!! I actually have two of them and love them both. Spacious, great views, my own bed, my own fiber — I am happy. No hotel room, however pleasant, can compare with sleeping in my own bed reading my own book about Gone with the Wind next to the bed. The snow is falling and I am warm and toasty, not in a trench or doing forced labor at Auschwitz. I AM HAPPY!
FRIDAY
Welly, welly, well, as the droogies would say in A
Clockwork Orange. I got up this morning and the snow had
stopped. I went down to the Watergate laundry and got my shirts
from the last visit, got the newspapers at the CVS, got a haircut,
and then my Bob Noah showed up and off we drove to Penn State in
State College, Pennsylvania.
Now, on the map this looks like not a bad drive. But Bob had trustingly leaned on his GPS to get us to the destination. Instead of taking us over normal freeways and interstates, his GPS’s route took us over terrifying mountain passes and totally abandoned, fallow fields and forests. I do not like winding roads and threw a fit.
Finally, we found a small town whose name I don’t remember, and by a miracle, found a decent road into State College.
I love Penn State and the kids were as pleasant as could be. The question period was fine except for a query by a “truther” who is convinced that the CIA and the Israelis knocked down the World Trade Center. Wow, there are a lot of wacky people out there.
It is scary how many people have just lost their minds and have conspiracy theories about the Federal Reserve (which is not a conspiracy entity, just a normally incompetent bunch of human beings with good educations and human limitations), the U.S. invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan (again, no conspiracies that I see, just human errors ), and space travel.
I shouldn’t really be hard on them, though, since I unequivocally see a conspiracy in the amazing power Goldman Sachs has over the U.S. government.
Well, no point dwelling on that. The speech and reception were fine. I really enjoy these events, and Bob drove us home on big immense freeways and then I could get back in my bed.
I am so in love with just lying in bed listening to Mozart. Napoleon could not have gotten more pleasure out of Austerlitz than I do out of listening to Mozart’s Laudate Dominum.
I flipped on the TV before I passed into slumber, and what should I see but that another snowstorm is approaching D.C. Yippee. I can watch the snow from my apartment. I love it.
FRIDAY
Off to Fox and CNN to do
some TV shows. The snow is falling. The trees are a magical white.
The streets are covered with snow. But the studios are warm and
toasty and cheerful.
I did my shows and said my two cents’ worth, and then I got back to my apartment. I hired a driver with a four-wheel-drive vehicle and my pal Russ Ferguson and I went out to a fabulous Italian restaurant in Georgetown by the name of Café Milano. We first had a seat under some loudspeakers. It was unbearable. Loud thumping awful bass. I complained. Then we had a good table in a room with a view of the snow and the revelers in the snow. I had chicken Milanese and Russ had some kind of pasta. The service was perfection. It was all heavenly and I just felt really wonderful. Out in the snow, young people greeted me as the kindly old fool I now am.
Back to my apartment, and Russ went home. I lay for a long time watching the snow. It was paradise. The silence was total and I thought, “Benjy, enjoy this. Hardly anyone else on this planet gets to feel as good as you feel right now. Enjoy the silence and the beauty.”
I did and I went into dream land.
SATURDAY
When i awakened, there was
more than a foot of snow on my balcony railing. Even birds could
not land there.
About the Author
Ben Stein is a writer, actor, economist, and lawyer living in Beverly Hills and Malibu. He writes “Ben Stein’s Diary” for every issue of The American Spectator.
Matt Morehouse| 4.21.10 @ 10:25AM
Not up to his usual speed. What's with the two typos and four exclamation points? Doesn't Spectator employ competent copy editors? Try this company .
I forgive him...he was sick.
Herman King| 4.22.10 @ 11:55AM
I lost respect for Ben Stein after he called Ron Paul anti-semitic on the Larry King Show.
Matt Morehouse| 4.21.10 @ 10:28AM
The company is We Build Books. www.webuildbooks.com
Phil Troung| 4.21.10 @ 11:18AM
Mr. Stein,
You are a recognizable face to my generation (i'm 30) and I respect your service to the country. I disagree with your assessment of KGB complicity in President Kennedy's murder. Of course, President Johnson used that possibilty to blackmail Chief Justice Warren into heading the commission to investigate- we know that because Johnson bragged about as much and the tape in the public record. Johnson referred to it as whatever was going on between Oswald and the KGB down in Mexico City. If you study that situation, I think you will find that Oswald was being manipulated and also impersonated to appear to be in contact with a Russian named Kostikov who worked at the Russian embassy in Mexico City and was known in CIA files to head their assassination program in the western hemisphere. What I find most interesting is that just 24 hours before these elements were cabled to the FBI and State Dept by the CIA who was monitoring that embassy, Oswald was taken off an FBI watch list that he'd been on since defecting to the USSR. That lead to no alarm bells going off from him working along the parade route and also after the assassination it lead to some serious CYA by all agencies involved. Also when CIA headquarters sent information on Oswald back to Mexico City answering that CIA stations info request regarding him, they sent totally conflicting info from what they sent to FBI and State. All this has been known since it was declassified by the ARRB in the nineties. I don't know what it means exactly but it doesn't like the foundation of a KGB assassination. After checking the accuracy of all this I'm sure you would agree because I believe you are at least as intelligent as I and probably more so. Be well, and lastly, your role in the Ferris Bueller movie is priceless.
William Haugland III| 4.21.10 @ 11:57AM
Mr. Stein, great article. You are always entertaining and I usually learn something new when reading your articles or watching you on t.v.
Thanks a million!
Publius| 4.21.10 @ 1:26PM
I would have preferred to comment and argue upon the field of economics. I understand Mr. Stein claims to have some ideas on this subject, but I can at least commiserate with him on the rigors of travel. Fifteen years ago I thought it was fun and I enjoyed traveling on business quite often. Today I dread it and find as many excuses as possible to avoid it and the result is that I am practically a shut-in. He has fiber issues and I have reality issues. Oh well, nobody is perfect and life is not perfect by any stretch. I'm sure Mr. Stein will find a way to pull through and make a way in this world for himself. His economic trials and tribulations are truly endearing and indicative of his close association with the issues the rest of America faces.
Jim | 4.21.10 @ 6:49PM
Dear Ben, sometimes I love him and sometimes I can't stand what he say. But all in all, I love him. Carry on Ben!
1FreeMan| 4.21.10 @ 9:07PM
Mr. Stein,
When I was visiting refugee camps along the Pakistan border in Afghanistan I had some terribly long days. Threats to life were real and the dirt, heat and weight of armor and weapons made it a drudgery. I often thought of home and lying in bed listening to the silence. I hoped that my work meant something to someone.
I read your letters and realize it does. Thank you.
Jerry| 4.21.10 @ 10:42PM
For another interesting lead on the JFK assination read "I Hear You Paint Houses" which was written by the attorney of an organized crime figure to made a deathbed confession to killing Jimmy Hoffa.
grock| 4.22.10 @ 6:41AM
Mr Stein, two hours for tea? I suggest you carry along a couple packs of your favorite Tazo "Refresh" . Improvise.
JG
Becky| 4.22.10 @ 11:59AM
Dear Mr. Stein,
I took a little time out from my morning routine to read your shared diary and found myself in another world. Thanks for sharing this time in your life with us. I felt like I was right there with you, enjoying your snowy apartment. (I'm from Southern Cal)
I plan on checking out the Mozart you mention. The piece of music that always brings me pleasure is the Brahms Requiem.
Love watching you on those Fox weekend shows.
God bless you and 1FreeMan.
1FreeMan| 4.22.10 @ 4:17PM
Thanks Becky. God has blessed me... with a free country and freedom for my family. Best blessing ever!
Dr. James Willingham | 4.22.10 @ 12:26PM
Dear Mr. Stein: I really enjoyed your movie, Expelled, but if Russia is ruled from over here and in Europe then some one else was behind the assassination. did you ever read Mark Lane's civil trial in Fla. where he won a judgmnt against some folks for the conspiracy to assassintate JFK?
Jack Lavelle| 4.22.10 @ 4:16PM
Hello again, Ben. It's been a while and I've missed reading your warm, friendly epistles.
I could be persuaded about your view of the JFK murder. My only difficulty is this: how did Oswald, an indifferent marksman with a mediocre weapon, connect on those unbelievable shots? It is a bit like me, a 5'11" fat guy, making a half-court shot at the buzzer with Michael Jordan in my face. It could have happened, but still... Of course, the whole idea of an assassination is for the assassin to get away with it. Maybe Oswald was exactly what he said he was, a 'patsy.'
Thank you for sharing your wonderful blizzard experiences. As a desert rat, I encounter snow so rarely it is a treat - such as the day of SuperBowl XLII. Instead of paying outrageous prices to see my beloved Giants in my hometown stadium, I drove to Flagstaff and watched the game with one of my sons and his roommate. We are all just nuts about the Jints. That day and evening, we had a blizzard of impressive proportions, and at the conclusion of that wondrous contest, we slid and spun our way around town to finally locate a place to eat in the heavy, silent snow. It was memorable.
Thank you for all that you share with us. It makes me at least feel like a friend.
Jack in Phoenix
Nobammy bin lyin| 4.23.10 @ 11:20PM
I must disagree with a portion of your comment JL, I hope you don't mind.
An indifferent marksman? He was a Marine and Marines are riflemen first and all else second. (ie cooks, drivers, pilots, etc) It takes many things to become a Marine and superior marksmanship is easily one of the most important. Those "unbelievable" shots you speak of are quite believable for a well trained & motivated shooter. This is true whether you like the man or not and I, like you, do not. This is not a worship piece, it's common knowledge to anyone who handles weapons. As for a mediocre weapon, I can assure you that a Marine will deliver well placed rounds with any weapon. I do agree though that he did not fire the fatal round. That shot came from in front of him. It is no conspiracy given the direction his head flew in after impact; to the rear, it is fact. That obviously meant the shot hit him from the front. I've watched all the shows of some clown trying to convince me that he was shot from behind therefore his head flew back. Retarded. Set up 10, 100 or 10,000 cans on a fence rail and shoot them. I guarantee every single one you hit will fly AWAY from you not toward you. So in that respect I agree with you. He was indeed a patsy but only insofar as he was robbed of a kill. He intended to do it, but somebody else insured it.
gerry smith| 4.27.10 @ 1:59AM
Mr. Stein,
I lost respect for you a few years ago when I saw you on a tv show where you scoffed at the notion of a real estate bubble.
If you can be so wrong on something that even I could perceive at that time to be obvious then I doubt your ability to be right on any other issue.
And the fact that I have never seen or heard an acknowledgement of how gloriously wrong you were only serves to make your opinion a 'do not buy'.
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