His memory popped into my consciousness. He was a professor at UAB. Bacall and both had him. No one who had a class with him will ever forget him. I had him for a course on the history of the Spanish in the SW. It was my senior year. I missed one question on the midterm. It was school tradition that graduating seniors who aced the midterm were excused from the class with an A. Fuck that; he was my Wednesday night entertainment. I missed one question on the final about a caballero who killed some Indians. We were to name the mesa in New Mexico where it happened. Nothing in the library about it. He told me no one aces his exams.
We unexpectedly came across him socially a few years after graduation. I would tell tales of that, but smoke and booze muddled my memory. He wrote a book telling the history of New Orleans through cocktails that were developed there. There is a challenge for a young man. Take a walking tour through the French Quarter, drinking one cocktail at each bar that specializes in it. You will be crawling by the time you get midway through. Ask me how I know.
I looked him up today. Found that his middle name was Lazarus. And that he had been knighted by King Carlos for his research into the history of Spanish rule here.
Here's to you, Jack Holmes.
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We had a big soirée for Bacall's 50th. Probably 50 guests. Family, friends, co-workers. Had heavy hors d'oeuvres catered. A memory for me was a game of Pin the Macho on the Man. The man was a 3 by 3 poster. For an hour or so the women were sharing scissors, calmly cutting out cardboard penises to pin on the man. I kept wincing.
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We raced a small sailboat all over the eastern side of the country. From Maine to Coconut Grove and as far west as KC. Most of the regattas were at sail clubs, cousins to yacht clubs. Yacht clubs are a different breed. I recall one that had a helicopter landing pad, and the family arrived from NYC for the weekend. The daughter deplaned carrying her formal gown.
At another club we walked the docks looking at the yachts. A gold platter pulled in. A uniformed crew made the boat fast to the dock. A middle-aged woman emerged and did exercises on the dock. When she stepped aboard the yacht, the crew again emerged, cast off lines, and they were gone. It's a different world.
Most clubs have reciprocal arrangements. Our membership from our sail club allowed us entry to exclusive clubs. The women always wore gloves to dinner.
Jack D L Holmes - his book Honor and Fidelity is still available on Amazon. Sounds the sort of chap that adds quality to an education. The party game had a more innocent version for children's parties. It was pinning a tail on a donkey. Perhaps, there was a Freudian connection to the adult version, bearing in mind how well endowed donkeys are! As you say, there are yacht clubs, and there are yacht clubs. The same distinctions apply here, although with less snobbery than previously. The last Royal to sail was Prince Philip, late consort to Elizabeth ll. So there are relatively few clubs like the Royal Corinthian, allowed to use the 'Royal' appendage. At one time Lord Sainsbury was refused membership on the grounds of being only a 'grocer' (owning or working in retail was looked down on) Lord Sainsbury was a multi-millionaire, whose family owned one of the UK's more respected supermarkets, founded in1869! And yes, our class system even relates to supermarkets, Waitrose and Sainsbury being regarded as having the most 'professional' class customers. With Prince George going to Eton College, the prestigious 'public' school, the English class system is alive and well. As is the way with English idioms 'public' means private, fee paying, and exclusive. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThat would be another Jack Holmes.
DeleteWe held our Nationals championship at the Panama City YC. (twice). They had an excellent race committee. They had Muzak in the parking lot to discourage teen parkers. The ladies all wore white gloves to lunch. Clubs with active sailing programs thought it an honor to host championships even when there was not a single boat like ours at the club. Bragging rights.
Correction, my error, according to this https://www.lib.ua.edu/Alabama_Authors/?p=1475
DeleteHe was the editor of the book. Sounds like one of those men who lived a full life, made even fuller by those he influenced. Perhaps I am being a little dense, by how does musak deter teen parkers? There was never much making out among teens in cars here. The minimum age to drive a car, with a driving instructor is 17, so most are 18 or 19 before they get a licence. It is also very expensive to insure a young person to drive. If one sees a car parked in a dark corner with the windows steamed up it is likely to be an adulterous liaison between two adults, rather than teens
I can't think of a good analogy for why Muzak in a parking lot deters teens from parking there. This was 1981, so Muzak being a long way from AC/DC must have worked.
DeleteParking was a thing here. I had a car at 16, and sometimes I would pick her up, and we would go park. Sometimes to places where there were others, sometimes private. The busy places attracted police with flashlights.
I was in the Navy before I was 18, so my parking days ended then.
Jack Lazarus Homes was a very interesting guy! Yes I know how the french quarter can do that to you. Stay away from the Hurricanes. LOL
ReplyDeleteHurricanes are common, there are many. sours that are not found elsewhere.
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