Fame is Fleeting

It's the birthday (1896) of Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald. He wrote short stories, novels, and screenplays. He moved around a lot -- St. Paul, New York, Paris, Los Angeles. He drank too much and died young. He's still famous around these parts because of his connection to St. Paul.

Here's a picture of the lovely brownstone on Summit Avenue where he lived for a while.

When he was in town, he hung out at the bar in the Commodore Hotel a few blocks away. The building has been converted to condominiums but the bar has been restored and is open to the public. They're having drink specials today, I assume. I have not yet visited the Commodore but it's on the bucket list.

Today is also the birthday (1934) of Arne Carlson, former Governor of Minnesota and frequent commentator on local affairs. Arne was born in New York and went to Choate prep school back east. He came to Minnesota for grad school and never left. He's a sharp-tongued iconoclast, which makes him fun to watch even when he's wrong. Arne has been known to frequent the Commodore bar.

Bob Dylan mentions F. Scott Fitzgerald in this song. I do not know if Bob has visited the Commodore, but I can picture him brooding silently in a corner there.

And in this time-travel scene from Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris," Scott and Zelda make a cameo appearance. Enjoy!

The Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul is named for F. Scott, as is a little pub on Selby Avenue called, simply, The Fitz. I've heard The Fitz has good deep-dish pizza, which has nothing at all to do with F. Scott.