Welcome. Here, beneath one banner lay many diversions.
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Among the greatest satisfactions I find in researching and writing on aspects of the American Culture are retrieving the lost piece of an unfinished tale, rewarding rightful credit to an ignored hero and restoring facts to balance a biased account.
Above all else, however, it is a passion driven by assembling these discoveries into accurate yet dramatically compelling storylines which may enlighten and inform others about their own lives while entertaining their imaginations.
Where do I find most of these storylines?
My work is researching, scrutinizing and interpreting the American Presidents and First Ladies with a perspective on them as human beings, and a focus on the political impact of their personal experiences and influences. Currently, most content here is drawn from that arena.
Dominating Pop Culture for over half the country’s history, Presidents and First Ladies also prove to be windows into an array of other topics – mass media, holiday rituals, advertising, marketing, technology, immigration, regional foods, Hollywood, integration, architecture, symbolism, and most importantly, Self-Identity.
So, increasingly you’ll also find here stories of Pop Culture fused with those on Presidents and First Ladies, (how greens Teddy Roosevelt ate, for example, influenced his national policy), into a genre that can perhaps best be categorized as “Presidential Pop.”
And through the Presidents and First Ladies, I’ve discovered the full array of prominent Americans from widely diverse backgrounds who’ve left a legacy of their accomplishments – and their examples of overcoming adversity to make their unique perspective part of the national story. What marks all of them, regardless of age, profession, religious or ethnic identity, or regionality is a singular commitment to their Individuality. Whether in pursuit of a conventional goal, the manifestation of their unique vision (be it engineering or dance), or employing a specific gut instinct to retool an old system, these individuals are often unheralded heroes because they are viewed as only being significant symbols or representatives only to the demographic they’ve been identified as belonging to.
The truth is, their stories of pursuit and achievement are relevant and useful to everyone. Look beyond the most popular gadget that’s marketed to everyone or the latest trend or opinion poll and, I believe, you will find that the desire to follow one’s uniquely Individual vision is far more common than not. It’s a theme I intend to pursue here, through biographical sketches of people like this.
You will also find here Pop Culture stories which stand apart from Presidents and First Ladies that underline those contradictions, perplexities and progressions of human nature that are timeless. Examples of this will include the story of how serving authentic Key Lime Pie came to now be illegal, why rapid tech advances are making us more 19thCentury, older movies about the future end happier, and dogs are wiser about life than humans are about death.
Irony, paradox and myth mark our E Pluribus Unum society, from the New Amsterdam Dutch being victims of bigotry, to ogling Dallas Cowgirls while petitioning for chaste school uniforms, to the ingenious fib of Betsy Ross making the first flag.
Attempting to capture that irreverence might help maintain a lighter spirit here. Along the way, I hope that an overt appreciation for what is still the national nature to nurture individualism will poke through.
Monumental Teddy. Duller than the real.
And this theme so often returns to Presidential History. Rarely have a group of men and women who were first and foremost human beings been distorted, beatified, denigrated, idolized and hated for all the wrong reasons. And yet so many myths about so many Presidents and First Ladies prove resistant to the facts because these tales ultimately serve a far greater purpose than the reality of who these people were as human beings.
Taft did not get stuck in a White House bathtub. Florence Harding did not poison her husband. Van Buren did not lavishly refurbish the White House. Reagan did not decide that ketchup should qualify as a vegetable for school lunches. Andrew Johnson was not a drunkard. And that one about George Washington chopping down the cherry tree which we’re not told is untrue? That may, in fact, be a lie. As John F. Kennedy once aptly observed, “Emotions move people more than facts.”
I hope some of this also illustrates that History isn’t irrelevant trivia but accidental and intentional choices affecting us today, made by both the famous and the unknown, all with talents and flaws. That might help us make wise choices in our own stories.
As a political Independent influenced by Mark Twain, Voltaire, Washington Irving, William Makepeace Thackeray, Mae West (as a novelist), and Gore Vidal, some might respond to my blog as does my iPod to my music choices, declaring it “unclassifiable.”
The late, great Yeager the Weimaraner.
That said, I’m reminded of a primal truth learned from my Old Dog: how others label us is often arbitrary, even irrelevant to how we define ourselves.
Page around. If the stories make you return, please subscribe!
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Mrs. Nixon got so little credit during her life time. Mr. Anthony you truly did an act of justice by profiling her so. During her lifetime, she, unlike several other recent First Ladies, did not receive a Presidential Medal of Freedom. Wouldn’t it be great if she were posthumously awarded this during her centenary. Certainly, it would be great to see her terrific daughters receive it for her after all these years.
Being a little presumptuous here, but, if the idea appeals to you, might you give it a llittle push.
At the least, the Panda Exhibit at the DC Zoo should bear her name. And, if Nixon is the presidential moniker that dare not speak its name, how about the “Pat Ryan Panda Exhibit”? Best.
Great idea – but I hardly have time to keep earning no money keeping this website going, let alone start a national movement. I would think that getting a consortium of members of Congress from each of the districts where she lived – Nevada, California, New York, New Jersey, Iowa (just off the top of my head of the many places she lived throughout her life) might be a start to either get the congressional medal idea going – or to have them petition the Smithsonian director of the National Zoo to rename the Panda House – it is really there due to her.
I completely understand. It is very generous of you to produce this wonderful and unique blog.
Actually, as far back as the first Bush administration, I’ve written to the WH with this suggestion. I’ve received boiler plate responses. For something like this to come about, there would have to be a truly interested person in a fairly high poilitical position to push it. But if the arc of history truly bends towards justice, who knows…
Yes – congressional action; rarely will any executive branch official initiate that sort of thing and technically i think it must come from Congress. As far as the Panda house being renamed, I think that should be relatively easy – it is a matter of National Zoo officials proposing it to higher-ups at the Smithsonian,
Carl, it is a privilege to read a writer that, rather than incite a sense of entitled intrusion, guides readers through the richness of lives,
The depth and scope of your skill to invoke respect for your subjects by transcending ideologies, is a genre that we could all use more of in these obtrusively ‘critical’ times.
To be trustworthy of such intimate access to First Ladies, their mothers and Yeager – and stay true even after they’re gone – is good enough for me to spread the word. Thank you.
Wow – what a generous response and also rewarding to know that people out there “get it.” I more than appreciate it – truly, truly grateful. Thank you. And it sort of keeps me committed to the path of my efforts. Thank you.
Carl,
Missed this post, but just read your current post on Hillary Clinton’s mother. I’m reading Gore Vidal’s “last” memoir – Point to Point Navigation and just did a search to see if you had written about him. 50 years ago I played the “visitor” in a summer stock production of his A Visit to a Small Planet; that, first brought him to my attention.
In the images you have chosen that features cheerleaders and – Are those Three Mile Island nuclear towers? Anyway, the little photo of white church and barn is of Waits River, Vermont. My first three years of school were in the one-room school to which I walked, in all seasons and weather and, it was up-hill in both directions!
Did you want to talk to me?
Tomorrow, I’m John Quincy Adams in “A Spirit Unconquerable!” for the DAR.
Somebody’s got to do it!
JimCooke
Wow….what a random coincidence that you spotted the Walts River church steeple. Good eye. The cheerleaders and nuclear power plants intended as a visual of the range of “American Culture,” in all its irony, contradiction and paradox. Will be in touch on interview – for part of a larger piece I’m still gathering conceptual might on…with your work as the lead…..more to come….
Great post, spotted you on google and content I came. Keep up the good work!
Mr. Anthony,
I have your books about Mrs Kennedy,I enjoyed thwm very much.Mes. Kennedy was a very special person. You met her didn’t you? How did you go about getting her autograph? I wish I could have met her.- She accomplished so much with elegence. She has been an inspiration to me. I wrote to her in 1994 and told her so,but I don’t know if she read it. But I recieved a thank you note from her children.
Thanks for your books
Thanks – always nice to know people have read what one’s written, especially in book-length form. I did meet her – in one of the blog stories here, there’s a picture showing her with me nearby one of those times. When we first met she told me about President Kennedy’s collection of presidential letters and autographs – and I mentioned my own collection of autograph signatures of presidents and their wives and that I didn’t then have one of her’s – and she pulled out an envelope from her bag and signed it for me. After that we corresponded and she edited some material I wrote.
Hey, watched your video on Yeager. What a tribute to a great friend. I take my weim to work every day, and I know what wonderful friends they are. Sorry for your loss.
You can’t even begin to know how much I appreciate that – thanks. As you saw in the video, I worked almost every day alongside Yeager. I figure I spent an average of 19 out of every 24 hours a day for ten years in his presence. There is something about the eyes of weims and their intense sensitivity to every move we make that draws us in. I never lost my fascination with him – always studying and observing him – as he studied and observed. I can accept the reality that every living being dies and because of the care I gave him I have zero regrets and zero guilt, but the absence of his energy and wisdom is deafening.
Carl,
I have been a fan of your writing for many years and have read most (if not all) of your books. I only discovered that you had a website last week when I was looking for news on Betty Ford’s death.
I very much enjoyed the piece on Mrs. Ford and the great pictures you selected to go with it. She had been one of my favorite public figures. How privledged you were to be able to know her,
I also enjoyed reading the stories about your dog. Although I do not have a dog of my own, I can relate somewhat in that I am very close to my mother’s dog Rocco. Mom got him after my dad died in Sept. 05. He was recued from the New Orlean’s area after Hurricane Katrina and brought to the Pittsburgh area where she adopted him. He was found abandonded in a home in St. Bernard Parish. They believe he was on his own for perhaps 4 weeks. He is believed to be a Sheperd mix and was thought to be about 1-2 years old when he was rescued. He is a wonderful dog. He is mom’s protector and my best buddy.
Thanks for all of the great work you have done over the years and good luck with the website and all of your future projects. I am looking forward to them.
Sincerely,
Jon Castelli
Harrisburg, PA
Excellent commentary on Betty Ford on MSNBC
I appreciate that – thank you.
Elegant and informative article on Betty Ford on salon.com, Carl. It perplexes and even saddens me to see how often people in public positions get pumped up at adulated, and/or vilified. Though I enjoyed your article in entirety, the line that lingers is the one about making lasagna. Thanks for presenting a thoughtful and humanizing portrait of a graceful and courageous woman.
Thanks for your comment – and I agree with your observation. I do think of course the media shapes the narrative of every story so perhaps that building and tearing down serves the purpose of a more sensational published or broadcasted piece which increases revenue, more than it does serve the interest of the public by giving us a fuller and less loaded presentation of facts.
that was a very touching piece on Betty Ford for Salon online. i also enjoyed the one on this site.
left, right or center, honest people of good conscience like Betty Ford are too rare these days.
i have subscribed.
thanks,
Trip
Well – thank you Trip. I think when people like Mrs. Ford do rise in public life, they need to be encouraged to continue to be who they are and call things out.
Carl:
I would like to talk with you about a story I am writing regarding First Ladies.
We have spoken in the past, when I was still working at the NY Times. I retired 3 years ago..
I hope to hear from you, by email and I hopey ou will send me your phone number so I can all you.
Thank you,
Marian Burros
I’m surprised it’s taken me this long to find you on the web, Mr. Anthony. I have enjoyed your writing on
our Presidents and First Families for many years. I am very grateful for the excellent oral history you put
out on Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis; sadly we do not have many 1st person memoirs or narratives about her. Much has been written, but very few of the people who know her best, wrote memoirs or said too much. I also have your book on Florence Harding, waiting to be read.
You have really done some amazing work in researching the “human” side of our WH I have a collection of books dealing with the personal lives of American Presidents and First Ladies, as well as WH triva. I have struggled to find a name for this modest collection, I do agree with you that “pop culture” does factor in a great deal. I simply refer to my books as “Presidential Mondo”.
Looking forward to exploring your web site, and of course, reading more of your books!
Wow – what a nice lift your message gave me – and thank you I greatly appreciate it. It is a massive universe this subject of the Presidents and First Ladies and such a window into so many aspects of American culture and civilization, a real reflection of the perpetually shifting face of the nation. Sorry for the delay in responding.