President of the Trier Drinking Society

I was looking through one of my old journals, where I make lists, muse, and write down ideas and thoughts to look up. I followed up on one thought this morning. I must have been driving home from work when I heard a segment on NPR's "The Writer's Almanac" where Garrison Keillor talks about Karl Marx writing to his wife. Here is part of the segment, which aired May 5, 2008:

It's the birthday of Karl Marx, born in Trier, Germany (1818), the son of a lawyer. Marx went to university to study law but was not a very dedicated student and became president of the Trier Tavern Drinking Society. When he transferred to a school in another city, he became a more serious student. He married Jenny von Westphalen, his childhood sweetheart and the daughter of a Prussian Baron, in 1843. They would have seven children together, only three of whom would survive to become adults. Nonetheless they had a tender and generally happy marriage, and Marx once wrote to his wife, "There are actually many females in the world, and some among them are beautiful. But where could I find again a face whose every feature, even every wrinkle, is a reminder of the greatest and sweetest memories of my life?"

Someone once told me that I seem like I am equal parts romantic/idealistic and practical. My fondness for what Marx wrote to his wife captures that. He is at once being idealistic and romantic, telling his wife that she is the only one he'd rather be with. But the mention of the reasons why make it all the more real: There are beautiful people in the world, but I'm not interested in them--you are my life. You can also feel the gratitude and appreciation in the tone.

Just when you think you understand a philosopher/political theorist/social scientist, you learn something about him that surprises/delights you.