The title is a tribute of sorts to Sydney J. Harris, a syndicated newspaper columnist in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. His column, “Strictly Personal”, appeared in my hometown paper, one of the rare signs of intelligent life in my town. I am surprised how little about this writer can now be found on the internet — the link above provides only a taste.
Once a week, Mr. Harris would title his column “Thoughts at Large”, an assortment of one-sentence commentaries on human behavior. One of my junior-high-school teachers (whose name is now lost to me) made this a reading assignment — and I’m glad she did. Sydney J. Harris made me think about writing and think about thinking.
He would often couch an observation in the form, “I do X, you do Y, and he does Z”, where X is exceptional, Y inferior, and Z contemptible — and of course all refer to the same trait. Example (by me): “I make careful choices; you leave your options open; he is indecisive.” I liked these formulations on a number of levels.
I was originally going to add my own “Thoughts at Large” but I think I’ll leave it at that. Does anyone else have thoughts of Sydney J. Harris?
If you buy this book, please write and tell me how it ends.