I recall the night that President McKinley died. I was working at the time at a theatre in St. Louis. The oppressive feeling was in the air. I could not make the people laugh.

My mom was a teacher. In the 1960s and '70s, she taught history at two largely African American public high schools in Washington, D.C. - McKinley Tech and H.D. Woodson. Her example taught me the importance of equality for all Americans.

William McKinley Oswald was my high school football coach. He was a great coach and had a profound influence on my life. But I think he could have learned his method of motivating players from an army drill sergeant.

I have nothing against President McKinley whatsoever, but I would rather have this peak be called by the name it has gone by for centuries by Alaskans than a man who never set foot in our state. This is the tallest mountain in North America, and we deserve to have this Alaskan landmark bear an Alaskan name.

I love how passionate Elder McKinley is about his faith, but he's a perfectionist in a bad way... to the point he denies his true feelings. It's a common story, unfortunately.

'Lady Bird' probably doesn't need more attention than it has gotten. It's a perfect movie, and some of its perfection is in its casting, but this is a movie crammed with wonderful work by people who aren't Laurie Metcalf and Saoirse Ronan: people like Lucas Hedges, Tracy Letts, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and, yes, that Timothee Chalamet.

Beetroot McKinley: [answers the phone] Beetroot McKinley talking. Who is this?
Vincent Benedict: Uh... Webster - calling from California. I happen to have something, uh, some merchandise, that you, uh, that you might want.
Beetroot McKinley: Well, bring it to me, son. Let me enrich you.
Vincent Benedict: Well,
uh, Mr. Beetroot, it's the amount of enrichment that I wanted to talk about.
Beetroot McKinley: Don't try and renegotiate with old Beetroot, son.
Vincent Benedict: Look, Beetroot, if we can't renegotiate, we wither and die. Look, there's no way Mr. Beetroot, that I am gonna deliver any damn Cadillac, unless I know for sure that I have... TWENTY for
my cut.
Beetroot McKinley: Twenty? You little shit-for-brains peckerwood! You're out of your goddamn crazy diseased greedy mind!
Vincent Benedict: Well, I guess that seems a little high for you.
Beetroot McKinley: YEAH.
Vincent Benedict: Well, I'm a reasonable man, uh, how 'bout fifteen?
Beetroot McKinley: The deal is FIVE!
Vincent Benedict: FIVE? I can do better than five here.
Beetroot McKinley: If you can do better than five million dollars, then, son, you take it.
Vincent Benedict: [starts to have trouble breathing]
Vincent Benedict: [having trouble talking]
Beetroot, I'll see you in Houston. After all, fair is fair. I'll just have to find it in my heart to live with your offer.
Beetroot McKinley: Well, good.
Vincent Benedict: [they both hang up] Five MILLION! Five MILLION dollars! Five MILLION dollars!