(Thanks, E. :)

(I don't have a way to forward your message to Lionel, so posting it is the best I can do. It may find its way to him from here. :)

Reader E. writes:

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Re: Lionel: 'Describing the American Mindset' ....

Hello Hobie, Please Forward the Following to the appropriate party.

To: Mr. Lionel Nation
Re: Senior Scholarship Paid Vacation

Dear Sir,

I have no subscription to your private channel but am continually intrigued and entertained by your commentary. I hear you talk about your gathering and say to myself, that would be fun:

Yet completely financially out of reach and possibly mentally in that trying to plan or even enter New York City without guidance frankly scares the shit out of me.

But I'm a chef; for twenty or so of my working years since the age of 13 in 75. A pup to you as I graduated in 80. I have run the Bell Curve from start to finish. As I drove through Chicago for the umpteenth time, in 2015, my entire life in my car, and Boulder when I left in 89 with a duffel bag, Denver, Salt Lake, Vegas, Seattle, Anchorage, Penn Air to Dillingham Alaska. That itinerary was booked by my future wife on a one way ticket to Dillingham. Seven years later it was 4850 lbs. in a Seaway container shipped from Anchorage to Seattle to Hibbing, MN.

I started the last paragraph with my paramount reason for coming to the city. To eat. To enjoy any food I could ever want on Earth I could find. And someone else cooks it. I don't care what happens to my bowels, i will enjoy the gastronomical pleasure.

So at what point does one finish the treatise? With one final point or find one more reason? Chuck Harder. Way down upon the Suwannee River, Stephen ??? should know the composer. I have no fact checker, Foster, Stephen Foster, there we are. Anchorage.

Eva. Polish emigrant after Walesa. Chuck was exposing Mena as the Clinton's were running. Boulder Agora outside the student center first semester fall of 80. David; 6'8" long hair hippie passing books about the Illumniati, my roommate with the Urantia books, Black Elk Speaks,"hey let's go climb a peak"

In any argument there must be one overwhelming reason.

Oh, shit, I respectfully request an addendum to this vacation request. Need to include a second. Lifelong family friend, fellow chef, graduated CIA, worked in one of DeNiro's places.

Or a preponderance of evidence. Of which there is none other than your belief in this tale of the tape. I still work at the local Eagles Club three days a week, today Friday the 16th I was up at 4, out at 5, did about 20 omelets on the flat grill, my days of crab Louie Filet with Bearnaise passed with the stress I wished to endure. For every Bourdain there is a thousand of me.

I always imagined a guild of restaurant professionals and caterers, not 4 or 5 star, but the people who have a second and third gear, the finest people on the planet, who will for no reason whatsoever know that your baby needs a bottle and it will be heated now. Such is service.

Alcohol consumes cogent reasoning of the mind, besides it's time to move on to the feeling rather than the reasoning. Thank you so much to any who may read.

Sincerely,

The Writer

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