My favorite things New Hampshire

1. Musician.  I don’t love Steve Tyler/Aerosmith, so what am I left with?

2. Author: I find John Irving unreadable, so does it come down to Russell Banks?  Who else is there?  Salinger lived in New Hampshire for a long time, so I’ll pick him, though it is also pretty far from my favorite.  Here is my Catcher in the Rye review.

3. Sculptor: August Saint-Gaudens.

“Law Supported by Power and Love”

4. Adam Sandler movie: The Waterboy, Happy Gilmore.

5. Poet: Robert Frost, who seems to be clear winner for the whole state.  There is a scholastic version of Frost which is quite dull, don’t be put off if that is all you know of him.

6. Movie director: Brian DePalma, Dressed to Kill and Mission to Mars being my favorites.

7. Painter: Maxfield Parrish.  I feel I’m being forced into many of these choices — I simply can’t think of anyone else.

8. Secretary of the Treasury: Salmon P. Chase.  Chase is one of the few people to have had a major position in the executive branch, served in Congress, and sat on the Supreme Court.

9. Free trade economist: Douglas Irwin.

The bottom line: For all of my grumbling, for such a small state it does pretty well.