When I Made P.J. O'Rourke Laugh

Like many others, I was saddened to hear of the passing of political humorist P.J. O'Rourke who succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 74. 

While O'Rourke identified as a libertarian, he skewered right-wingers every bit as much as The Left. Case in point:

The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it.

Or:

"The Democrats say, 'We know what is wrong with America and we can fix it.' The Republicans say, 'There's nothing wrong with America and we can fix that.' What we have in this country is a choice between the Democrats, who can't remember the past, and the Republicans, who can't stop living in it; between the Democrats, who want to tax us to death, and the Republicans, who'd prefer we get shot to death by a member of the Michigan militia." 

This is my favorite O'Rourke quote of all: "'You said we were going to have a drug-free America and I want my free drugs now." Although perhaps his most poignant quote was about Hillary Clinton when he endorsed her over Donald Trump in 2016. "It's the second worst thing that can happen to this country. But she’s way behind in second place," O'Rourke said, "I mean, she’s wrong about absolutely everything, but she’s wrong within normal parameters.”

I got the opportunity to meet O'Rourke once back in 2007. O'Rourke appeared at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline where he discussed Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations in the Books That Changed The World series. 

Of course, I wrote an article about O'Rourke's appearance. Unfortunately, I wrote it for one of those conservative websites which has since disappeared into outer cyberspace. Equally unfortunate is that my memory of what took place that night has largely faded. 

One of the things I remember was that after O'Rourke spoke we crossed the street to Brookline Booksmith where he did a book signing. It was the first time and only time I had been at an event which occurred at two different venues.

What I also remember was that I managed to make O'Rourke laugh. I did this in the context of Smith's famous quote about the butcher, the brewer and the baker. Smith wrote, "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest."

O'Rourke was known as a purveyor of alcohol. So I asked him how much benevolence he bestowed upon the brewer in the course of writing the book. This drew a laugh from both him and the audience. I wish I remembered what his response was to me. Perhaps I would have found it if the article were still online. Regardless, I can take satisfaction that I made a funny man laugh. R.I.P.