Reflections

I always admired Steve Allen . . . his protege, Andy Williams,once described him as follows: "Steve Allen does so many things, he's the only man I know who's listed on every oneof the Yellow Pages." . . . not just a comedian, he was also a prolific writer (having written well over 50 books),composer, pianist, actor, and a serious thinker . . . inaddition, he created NBC's TONIGHT show and PBS's award-winning MEETING OF MINDS . . . ever since hedied, I have tried to find either a good biography or autobiography about him; alas, the closest I could find was his own REFLECTIONS--written back in 1994 . . . so I got aholdof it, anxious to read Allen's comments on assortedphilosophical, political and social questions . . . I enjoyedthese . . . they reminded me of the type of observationsmade by George Carlin with the key exception beingthat they're all clean!There were many memorable passages; among them:As one who enjoys biographical reports of others' lives, I am much more interested in what a man thinks than in the fact that he was born in Seattle, played football for several years,or sleeps in pajama bottoms.People today--especially if they're under forty--often have background, soft-rock music going in their homes or offices,sometimes during important discussions. They say itcalms them. Should international arms negotiations be conducted with a background of such music?There are some people who seem to enjoy talking aboutfood more than they enjoy eating. There are those who have a similar attitude toward sex.