David Brooks
๐ค SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
Arden Patriots!
Well, leaving the New York Times is not joyous.
I'm filled with intense gratitude and incensed terror because I have to do something new.
But I had a weird moment where sometimes you run into a great teacher.
And this is going to sound trivial, but it produced tremendous joy for me in the last week.
I played tennis off and on my whole life.
My backhand is okay.
My forehand has been terrible since I was 14.
It's just terrible.
And I had this French guy named Justin give me a lesson.
And he told me exactly how to do it forehand.
And I can't tell you how much pleasure it now gives me to walk on the court knowing I don't have to run around my forehand forever.
And just getting competent at something or semi-competent at something.
I think we all have the desire to get semi-competent at something.
And for some kids, you watch them skate down a stairway and they're falling, falling, falling until they can pull the trick.
And now I'm semi-competent in having a forehand.
I don't know why that gives me such pleasure, but it does.
Thank you.
I think we were actually colleagues at the Wall Street Journal first before the Weekly Standard back in the 80s or 90s.