Funny Letters from Famous People
Chapter One
POLITICIANS
Politics is never far from a politician's mind.
And in almost every politician's letter you can find
Pointing with pride while at the same time viewing with alarm,
As with wonderful dexterity he almost breaks his arm,
Spinning contradictions with such gymnastic knack
That with all humility he pats himself upon the back.
He often makes us laugh out loud; but what is most mysterious
Is why he's at his funniest when trying to be serious.
-Charles Osgood
George Washington
When it came to the subject of marriage, George Washington certainly was of
several minds, all of them witty.
A thirty-eight-year-old bachelor, one Tench Tilghman, wrote to General
Washington to explain that he had gotten married while on his overstayed leave.
Washington wrote back:
Dear Tench:
We have had various conjectures about you. Some thought you were dead, others
that you were married.
Washington sent a congratulatory if slightly bizarre message to Governor Henry
Lee of Virginia on the occasion of his marriage:
My dear Gov. Lee:
You have exchanged the rugged fiel ... read full excerpt from Funny Letters from Famous People ebook
