[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 157 (Wednesday, September 28, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5221-S5222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING P.J. O'ROURKE

 Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I rise today in tribute to P.J. 
O'Rourke, one of America's greatest humorists. P.J. passed away after a 
brief illness earlier this year, leaving behind his beloved wife Tina 
and his three children, as well as countless readers who will miss the 
laughter and delight he brought them over a career that spanned nearly 
half a century.
  P.J. was born 74 years ago in Toledo, OH. We are proud to call him an 
Ohio native. His father owned a car dealership; his mother was a 
homemaker. P.J. was the product of Toledo's public schools, then of 
Miami University in southwest Ohio. One of his English professors, 
spotting a unique talent, arranged a scholarship that allowed him to 
continue in school and get his degree in English, with honors.

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  In the 1970s, P.J. moved to New York. There, he became editor of the 
legendary satirical magazine ``National Lampoon,'' then in its prime. 
After the Lampoon came stints at ``Rolling Stone,'' the ``Atlantic 
Monthly,'' and many other magazines, as well as 20 books known for 
their energy and wit.
  Frequently, he turned his attention to American politics. Some here 
in Washington can still feel the sting. He even found humor in the 
world's trouble spots; He was in Beirut in the 1980s, Somalia and 
Afghanistan in the 1990s, Iraq in the 2000s.
  One of my favorite P.J. O'Rourke quotes is: ``Politics is a necessary 
evil, a necessary annoyance, a necessary conundrum.'' His tone was 
always one of mischievous irreverence, tempered by an abiding sympathy 
for our common humanity.
  And he was never far from Toledo or from Ohio. ``No Toledoan ever 
outgrows Toledo,'' he wrote several years ago, in a tribute to his 
hometown. He was clear-eyed about the charms of a Midwestern upbringing 
and blind to any imperfections.
  ``Toledo is better than exciting,'' he went on, ``it's happy. Nothing 
is more conducive to unhappiness than taking yourself seriously, and 
taking yourself seriously is difficult when your baseball team is 
called the Mud Hens.''
  In truth, P.J. O'Rourke, while not taking himself too seriously, 
achieved much success in life--best-selling books, packed lecture halls 
in America and Europe, a journalistic career that took him to every 
corner of the world. But he never forgot he was from Toledo, from Ohio, 
from the heart of the country. And the country's heart always beat 
within him.
  My fellow Buckeyes join me in bidding farewell and offering our 
thanks to a treasured native son.

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