Day Tripping: December 16
The Life of Reason
Jorge ‘George’ Santayana was born in Madrid, Spain in 1863. At the age of eight, his family relocated to the United States. He attended Boston Latin College and then Harvard College where he founded the Philosophical Club.
After graduating from Harvard, Santayana traveled to Berlin to study for two years. He returned to write his dissertation at Harvard.
“A man’s feet should be planted in his country, but his eyes should survey the world.”
George became a professor at the school where some of his students were a whos who of the American literary. T.S. Eliot, Robert Frost, and Gertrude Stein were among his students.
Santayana never married and his sexual orientation was often questioned but never proven. In 1912, he resigned his position at Harvard and returned to Europe for the rest of his life.
George Santayana’s only novel The Last Puritan became a surprise bestseller. He wrote 19 books in all. With his earnings, George sponsored the works of other writers. One was Bertrand Russell though his views at the time were in total opposition.
Santayana was a pragmatist with eugenic views. Famous for his aphorisms, Santayana’s quote “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” was consistent with his beliefs in advancing the human condition.
Animator Chuck Jones used Santayana’s quote, “redoubling your effort after you’ve forgotten your aim” when describing Wile E. Coyote. Seems appropriate for recent events as well.
Today is:
National Chocolate Covered Anything Day — Well it’s about time!
Musical Ride
King Crimson and The Nice were on the same bill at the Filmore West in San Francisco in 1969. In a jam session before the show, Greg Lake of Crimson and Keith Emerson of Nice started a partnership that eventually added Carl Palmer and became ELP. Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends.
Gone But Not Forgotten
Lee Van Cleef had a role in almost every classic Western ever made. Literally, from High Noon to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Van Cleef died in 1989 at 64.
Notable Births
1899 — Noël Coward: “People are wrong when they say opera is not what it used to be. It is what it used to be. That is what’s wrong with it.”
1917 — Arthur C. Clarke: “Perhaps it is better to be un-sane and happy, than sane and un-happy. But it is the best of all to be sane and happy.”
K. Barrett Maria Rattray Maryam Merchant Dr. Mehmet Yildiz Tree Langdon Myriam Ben Salem Phil Truman Chelsea Mandler MAT Terry Mansfield Hollie Petit, Ph.D. Terry Trueman Dr. Preeti Singh John Gruber Bill Abbate James G Brennan ScienceDuuude Marcus Liam Ireland Claire Kelly Noorain Hassan, BMS Amy Pierovich David Acaster Nora Thewriteyard David Perlmutter Joe Luca Holly Kellums Michael Burg, MD Lucy Dan Dave Logan
All previous Day Tripping entries are available at the following links:
The Story Of Day Tripping Through History What’s Past Is Often Present
A comprehensive directory for Day Tripping