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Chun makes irresponsible accusation; dog barks
By Tom Smith

Chun the Unavoidable is accusing me of making up the story that Nixon appointed a black ambassador to Sweden to get even with them for opposing the Vietnam war. I am not making this up. I will look up the guy's name, but his son was in my class at Cornell and one of the few memorable players on the otherwise pathetic Cornell football team. The story was told to me by famous cold war revisionist historian Walter LaFeber at a dinner party at his house at which said young man son of the ambassador was a guest, as was I. Oh those giddy days. I was feeling kind of guilty that I had won a Rhodes Scholarship being neither black nor a football player (I was a liberal in those days, and a good thing too, or I would have had a heck of a time winning a Rhodes), then said young man told me about his private school in Switzerland, and other aspects of his amazingly privileged life. My guilt went away. But, Chun my dear chap, I will look up the name for you. Other loyal readers may rest assured their reporter remains unscathed.
UPDATE: Here's the guy. I see Dr. Holland himself went to Cornell, and played football, so son was following in father's footsteps. As to his reception in that chilly socialist paradise to our far Northeast, I suppose that's a job for the NYT archives.
posted by thomas at 2/10/2004 08:05:00 PM