szasz-flyinghigh - The Monday Morning Memo

Another painting by Endre Szasz. “Flying High.”

I see this one and think of a dichromatic Marc Chagall.

“Over Vitebsk” by Marc Chagall

I think this one is called “Lovers Flight,” but I’m not certain.

“Are you Russian?”

“To the core.”

“Well then, let me say from the outset that I am positively enamored with your country. I love your funny alphabet and those little pastries stuffed with meat. But you nation’s notion of a cocktail is rather unnerving….”

“How so?”

The captain pointed discreetly down the bar to where a bushy-eyebrowed apparatchik was chatting with a young brunette. Both of them were holding drinks in a striking shade of magenta.

” I gather from Audrius that that concoction contains ten different ingredients. In addition to vodka, rum, brandy, and grenadine, it boasts an extraction of rose, a dash of bitters, and a melted lollipop. But a cocktail is not meant to be a melange. It is not a potpourri or an Easter parade. At its best, a cocktail should be crisp, elegant, sincere – and limited to two ingredients.”

“Just two?”

“Yes. But they must be two ingredients that complement each other; that laugh at each other’s jokes and make allowances for each other’s faults; and that never shout over each other in conversation. Like gin and tonic,” he said, pointing to his drink. “Or bourbon and water… or whiskey and soda…” Shaking his head, he raised his glass and drank from it. “Excuse me for expounding.””

- Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow, p.300

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