Georges mile wide grin and dramatically imperfect teeth, i saw on the pedestal so many things that i didnt know were there. I saw the names of my brothers and sister inside a heart, my dads favorite movie, quotes by him how much he considered being mayor, honor bestowed on him, and the things made possible for people who didnt have power, who didnt have voice, there was so much more on that pedestal than death. And, so, i think its time to reclaim George Moscone from the narcissistic legacy or the senselessness of dan white or the well intentioned world of hollywood or the better intentioned world of theater. Its time to reclaim him from the places where the real george gets lost in the story of others, even in my own. And we gift him back to the city and to the people, to his friends and to his colleagues and to the citizens who are the fabric and texture and color of San Francisco. So, all of us can stop looking at the death of George Moscone and start to put him firmly in our hearts
This country for reasons that hope for reasons that help to layout a little bit in my talk, and if youre kind enough to get the book i would be happy to sign it for you afterwards. The notion of success i think lay at the heart of the american dream. And, in fact, the idea of the individual living head in the race of life, pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps as the old of them are saying, i think its embedded in our national dna. All of us avert i think some version of go make something of yourself, go make something out of yourself. Usually from anxious parents during our adolescence when we prepared to go off to college. And actually i think from the founding days of the republic, boosters and moralists, politicians and shysters, although i risk redundancy on those last two i think [laughter] they been instructing people in the best way to improve their social status and increase their material possessions, which are the two big parts of course of the success formula. In the 1
Book. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming today. Thankall. That was Alvin Townley on booktv. For more information, visit the authors web site, alvintownley. Com. Steven watts talks about the life and Lasting Impact of Dale Carnegie, author of how to win friends and influence people and other books. How to win was name the seventh most influential book in American History by the library of congress. This is 45 minutes. So, tonight were really lucky to have steven watts back. Steven watts has been called by another good buyographyer, robert westbrook, the plutarc of modern america because of his books on walt disney, hugh hefner, and henry ford, and now Dale Carnegie. A professor of history at the university of missouri, former chair of the department at and kale carnegie i give a lecture that i give i give it every year and a half the title is missouri the center of the literary universe and we talk about turn s. Eliot and mark twain and the bestselling cookbook written in st. Lo
Each one of us is the story teller of our lives and the lives of the people weve lost. And that wasnt always the case, as willie mentioned. But because of the likes of george and harvey and so many others, all the way to our mayor ed lee, all of us have voice. All of us can tell the story. So, lets crowd source this thing. Lets tell the real stories of george and harvey. Stories of their hard work and politics and the families and loved ones who surrounded them, of the moments we met them on the street or on their campaigns, in the castro or north beach, the vacations, the arguments, the jokes they told, the wild times they lived through, the change they made, and the lives they lived. Thank you. applause thank you, jonathan. That was beautiful. I think this is a nice segue into the San Francisco gay mens chorus who have been standing here patiently. I would like to introduce them and thank them so much for being here. Theyre going to sing love can build a bridge for us. [cheering and
Dramatically imperfect teeth, i saw on the pedestal so many things that i didnt know were there. I saw the names of my brothers and sister inside a heart, my dads favorite movie, quotes by him how much he considered being mayor, honor bestowed on him, and the things made possible for people who didnt have power, who didnt have voice, there was so much more on that pedestal than death. And, so, i think its time to reclaim George Moscone from the narcissistic legacy or the senselessness of dan white or the well intentioned world of hollywood or the better intentioned world of theater. Its time to reclaim him from the places where the real george gets lost in the story of others, even in my own. And we gift him back to the city and to the people, to his friends and to his colleagues and to the citizens who are the fabric and texture and color of San Francisco. So, all of us can stop looking at the death of George Moscone and start to put him firmly in our hearts so we can see the likes of