Yes, I mean real footnotes, not just endnotes—so readers will actually read them. The Solomon Scandals contains two endnotes, and one of them involves a dog, Harry S. Truman, and the New York Times. Read the novel for the full lowdown here. I disagreed with the Times about the Truman-related details. But in many if […]
Read MoreTruman and the ‘Get a dog’ quote—or nonquote
Did Harry Truman really say, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog”? Or maybe “buy a dog”? In The Solomon Scandals, an eloquent Afghan named Thackeray II quotes that line in a Truman act at the Cosmos Club. But he gets corrected by Prof. Rebecca Kitiona-Fenton, author of the foreword and afterword […]
Read More‘Truman’ quote’s D.C. variant: ‘Solomon Scandals’ blog cited by noted amateur etymologist
Who was the first on Earth to utter a classic line, or something close to it: “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog”? So far I’ve traced the witticism back to Donald Devine, a Reagan administration official, who can’t recall where he heard it. I suspect that someone Washingtonized a line in […]
Read MoreTruman dog quote mystery: Help for me from ex-Senator, but still no solution
Update: I’ve now traced the quote to a Reagan Administration official, who, however, can’t recall where he heard it. See addendum. – D.R. For close to a year, I’ve tried to crack a Washington mystery. What’s the origin of the famous Truman quote, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog”? In The […]
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