The Curator missed the boat last week by failing to honor the memory of Garry Shandling. Mr. Shandling grew up in Tucson and went far, far, far in the world of comedy. RIP! (For lots of laughs, listen to / read How Heartbreak Helped Garry Shandling Find His Comedic Voice from Terry Gross on March 25.)

The Curator also failed to mention Joe Garagiola’s passing on March 23. Joe—he was a friend—was one really nice, very talented man. RIP! (Here’s the St. Louis Post-Dispatch obituary, Catcher, Broadcaster and Hill Icon Joe Garagiola Dies at 90. Best line? Joe, who grew up on the same block with lifelong friend Yogi Berra, said: “Not only was I not the best catcher in the major leagues, I wasn’t even the best catcher on my street.”)

In the midst of the utter chaos which is the race for the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States, there is The Disaster of Richard Nixon, a review of four new Nixon books by Robert Kaiser for the New York Review of Books. While seeds of today’s sh*t show were sown by President Ronald Reagan no one can ignore the Nixon effect on the Republican Party and the divided country in which we live.

And on the other hand, here’s Donald Trump, Abortion, and the Collapse of the Conservative Coalition, written by Benjamin Wallace-Wells for the New Yorker. Mr. Wallace-Wells offers interesting insights into the state of the abortion issue in 2016. Short answer? Lower on the list, although I think Mr. Wallace-Wells does not focus adequately on what’s happening at the state level and in the courts.

A bit more than a year ago, the Curator shared Solitude and Leadership, William Deresiewicz’s speech to the 2009 plebe class at the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2009. It’s worth a reposting and rereading.

So there’s a very, very hot new restaurant in … Austin. It’s Emmer & Rye, and its co-owner /chef is Kevin Fink, a Tucson boy and a 2016 Food & Wine Best New Chef winner. I know his mom and dad, Nanci and Rick, are as proud as proud can be, and Austin is definitely on my list of places to visit soon.

And for local, local, here’s one of my pizzas:

Veggies, with saicee and cheese