The New Lear

As it pertains to your article on Norman Lear, he is not a “political maven,” which in Yiddish or Hebrew means an expert. Lear is a political maverick, a nonconformist.

As to the merits of what Lear “begat,” if it gave him 10 acres and a 12,300-square-foot home, even without the mule, it is an unequivocal proof of his success.

However, in his quest, at 68, for the meaning of life, he won’t find the answer, nor happiness, in a palatial dwelling. Marie Antoinette tried it in Versailles, and you know how that story ended. For the holidays I wish Lear wisdom; that is the most valuable, but also the most elusive, of life’s gifts. At the end if we take enough of it with us we are guaranteed a long and pleasant sleep, and wonderful dreams.

PHIL M. ISLAS

Paso Robles