Manhattan Island from Bottom to Top; Walking as Exercise
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Dostoevsky
An exchange with an LRY friend of mine from high school days.
He emailed me the following article.
The following Word document comprises my response.
— posted by Roger W. Smith
August 11, 2026
excessive consciousness
Falstaff. A good sherris-sack hath a two-fold operation in it. It ascends me into the brain; dries me there the foolish and dull and crudy vapours which environ it; apprehensive, quick, forgetive, full of nimble, fiery, and delectable shapes; which delivered o’er to the voice, the which is the birth, becomes excellent wit. — Shakespeare, History of Henry IV, Part II; Act IV, Scene 3
Under [Oliver St John] Gogarty’s able tutelage, which he decided not to refuse, Joyce began to drink heavily. At first, to assert a fancied resemblance between himself and the buoyant Elizabethans, he called for sack. The news of his ‘fall’ got round, and the day after his first night of utter drunkenness, he was teased by some young men on the street. ‘Who are these people?’ he said haughtily and walked on. Gradually he shifted from sack to Guinness’s unpretentious and less expensive stout, ‘the wine of the country.’ His capacity for alcohol was small, and he was prone to drunken collapses. All releases from excessive consciousness attracted him. … [italics added] — Richard Ellmann, James Joyce, Revised Edition (Oxford University Press, 1982), pg. 132
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I had quite a few discussions with my therapist, Dr. Ralph Colp Jr. — a scholar and reader as well as physician — about James Joyce. I was reading Richard Ellmann’s biography of Joyce during my employment at Columbia University (I could not put it down). Dr. Colp was greatly interested — the remark about Joyce and excessive consciousness struck him.
I believe that Dr. Colp saw this as an issue pertinent to me; to myself, to my mentality.
There is much more to be said — that I could say — on the subject. Such mental traits seemed intrinsic to my family and to have been manifested in my case beginning in early childhood.
It is not quite the same as raw intelligence.
A further random thought are some remarks of Dr. Colp, such as that on walks home from work he was in brown study (a British idiom that I myself once encountered in the works of Robert Louis Stevenson. meaning a state of deep, serious absorption in thought; or reverie). I once encountered Dr. Colp walking on Amsterdam Avenue when he seemed to totally lost in thought. He told me several times about how Charles Darwin tried hard to relax after mental exertion, and how Darwin was wary of sometimes thinking “too energetically.”
These were acute perceptions on Dr. Colp’s part.
— posted by Roger W. Smith
July 2026
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See also:
drinking is one of life’s pleasures (Handel) … I second that
Nursing During the Civil War
Word document above.
There is much to learned from these accounts, which I have assembled through painstaking research.
— posted by Roger W. Smith
July 2026
New Yorkers
total focus
My therapist, Dr. Ralph Colp, Jr.
My high school math teacher, Martin J. Badoian.
My mother.
Maria,the medical assistant to my primary care doctor,
All totally focused.
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I was thinking about my visit to the doctor last week and my interaction work Maria in particular. which brought this and the individuals mentioned above to mind.
She is completely focused on the task at hand,
And also, when I make conversation with her, totally focused and responsive: topics raised and observations made; on whatever passed between us.
In this particular case; topics like air travel, Portugal (where she comes from), relatives, etc.
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Mt. Badoian; totally devoted to his class — never the opposite.
And when we had the occasional conversation after school or when we once met later, totally into the topic of conversation: sorts, for example.
My mother: totally conscientious and donated to family and the task or matter at hand.
A great conversationalist.
Could switch on a dime from one to the other.
Parent and houseware. Carimg person.
Listening intently. Responding.
Never missing a thing. Rarely misspeaking.
Bringing insight and experience. to bear.
— posted by Roger W. Smith
June 2026
beyond the whale-road
Handel, Esther
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A magnificent passage::
— posted by Roger W.Smith
May 2026
“It’s all over!” (Havlicek stole the ball)
The play happened in the seventh and final game of the 1965 Eastern Conference finals. between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers. at the old Boston Garden.
On April 15, 1965,
I was a freshman in college. I attended the game with my best friend Johnny Harris.
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In the closing seconds, an inbound pass from Bill Russell struck one of the basket’s guide wires. The refs went into a conference — there was a delay — until they decided that the ball should be awarded to the 76ers.
Johnny and I were sitting in the balcony, at the end of the court opposite Havlicek’s play.
Hal Greer threw an inbounds pass for the 76ers. Havlicek stood with his back to Greer; he was guarding Chet Walker. He spun and tipped the pass to Sam Jones.
I recall watching Jones gleefully dribbling out the clock
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At a point around 0:22 in the audio, you can hear the announcer saying (the audio is garbled). “Bill Russell hugs him. He squeezes John Havlicek,” as Havlicek is being carried off the court.
— posted by Roger W. Smith
April 2026