Evanston RoundTable, April 9, 2026
We know we should do it more often, give thanks for all the good things in life. But we rarely do. Sometimes it helps to write it out. Herewith, my list, in no particular order, several dozen items, could easily be twice or three times as long:
1. Lake Michigan water, clean and clear from the tap, thanks to the Evanston Water Department: It’s magic!
2. Music: Without it, Nietzsche said, life would be a mistake.
3. Humility: The realization that there is very little we could do on our own to get through life, without the help of thousands of others, both now and in the past.
4. Seeing Ali in the ring, Mantle at the plate, Bobby Hull on the ice.
5. Seeing Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and Itzhak Perlman when they first came to town.
6. Spending a year of my early 20s living in London, traveling through England, visiting Russia and Israel and hitchhiking through Europe. Best year ever.
7. Having grandparents with the courage and foresight to leave their old lives and come to America — thus saving everyone in our family for generations to come.
8. Finding myself at the Waveland tennis courts on June 12, 1971, when my future wife walked by. (See No. 36.)
9. Friends, without which life would be a misery.
10. Having average intelligence, not too smart, which can breed arrogance and dissatisfaction, but smart enough to navigate life with reasonable facility.
11. Playing music: Being in a band, a quartet, a chorus, any ensemble, is the best.
12. A love of reading: Been at it continuously for 75 years.
13. The Pitt: Great acting, great drama, great choreography. All hail Noah Wyle and Katherine LaNasa.
14. Movies: The greatest art form?
15. The cello: God’s instrument.
16. Clean air. Thank you, Clean Air Act of 1970.
17. The 75 or so days from mid-April to the end of June.
18. The RoundTable, working with great people to produce great journalism.
19. Composers: Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Shostakovich, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, many others.
20. Writers: Ann Patchett, Donna Tartt, Ian McEwan, Gabrielle Zevin, Graham Greene, David McCullough, many others.
21. The American songbook.
22. Broadway musicals: The other greatest art form?
23. Seeing David at the Accademia in Florence. The greatest work of art?
24. Good family, the ones who’ve gone and the ones still with us.
25. Chocolate.
26. Birdsong.
27. Electric lighting: Flip a switch, light up your life. It’s magic!
28. The two Stevies: Wonder and Winwood.
29. Collegiality: Most people, most of the time, are great.
30. Trees.
31. Laying in the grass on a lazy summer day.
32. Coffee.
33. Dogs.
34. Travel.
35. Walking, especially with a friend.
36. A loving, steady and supportive hand from my life companion.
37. GPS navigation: Remember the days we’d try to drive while glancing nervously down at a map on our lap?
38. Vaccinations: I mean, come on people, really? Remember polio?
39. Living a long life.
40. Great teachers.
41. Visiting the Friendly Confines, especially with my grandson Ben.
42. Long train trips.
43. A good night’s sleep.
44. Modern medicine.
45. Electricity, the current that runs our lives.
46. A generous capacity to love.
47. Simple being, the wonder of existence, experiencing awe at the world’s beauty and richness.