The Bluest Blue Blood

First, I guess it would be best to start off with a scholarly understanding of what a "blue blood" actually is. Or, who a blue blood is. We've heard the term, now let's go to the OED.

Turns out it is Spanish in origin, Castilian to be precise, signifying a person with no Moorish or Jewish ancestry. A high-bred person. We get it.

We've heard the term WASP, a term you don't hear much of anymore, but one that also implies high breeding, with no foreign elements: a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant.

George Weymouth recently passed a way at 79. Mr. William Grimes's obituary of him in the NYT is filled with word clues that tell you Mr. Weymouth was a blue blood, without ever using the word in the text. It is a masterpiece of respect and sly fun.

The headline, although not written by Mr. Grimes, gives us a solid clue of what is to come. "...Horse Enthusiast and Bon Vivant..." Out quotes use the words "fox-hunting," "polo,"  and "steeplechase." Like the commercial for Dos Equis beer, that shows a bearded man of cultural bearing and distinguished age, flanked by two beautiful, compliant looking woman, with the tag line, "The most interesting man in the world," you are about to read the obituary of the world's bluest blue blood.

Culling from Mr. Grimes's text:

• Mr. Weymouth became nicknamed "Frolic" after a family dog that died soon after he was born.

We have to assume, the family dog was also a pure-bred. Nicknaming your kid after a dead dog has got to be something rich people do. And they wouldn't do if the dog was a mutt.

• Mr. Weymouth's fatherr was an investment banker, and his mother was a du Pont, Dulcinea Ophelia Payne du Pont, herself known as Deo.

Not being named Doris can count a lot toward earning blue blood points.

• George led the polo team at Yale to a national championship in 1957. He graduated from Yale in 1958, admitting in later interviews he couldn't read, write, or spell.

Does the NCAA still sanction polo? Would they drug test the horses and the riders now? Talk about a legacy admission.

Mr. Weymouth could boast of a lifelong friendship with Prince Philip, who we know is still alive, having driven his wife, the Queen of of England, Elizabeth, and the Obamas from the helicopter that landed on the royal grounds, back to the castle. The Prince is reported to have loved George so much he allowed him to romp through the royal park anytime with his horse or carriage.

That is a friend in high places. The Queen of England's husband. And just drop over anytime with your horses and carriage. That is some checked luggage, given that Mr. Weymouth was an American living on the Pennsylvania, Delaware border.

• Mr. Weymouth began collecting antique carriages, which he drove daily. The carriages were pulled by four horses, and apparently Mr. Weymouth was a highly skilled horseman at what was really a difficult task.

Guiding a carriage hitched to four eager to run horses. At Belmont race track one year (could I as a horse player ever be labeled a horse "enthusiast?" I doubt it.) before a prestigious race for fillies, the Coaching Club American Oaks (the equivalent of the Belmont Stakes for fillies) there was a demonstration on the track of a coach being pulled by four horses. It was Tally-Ho all the way. The spectacle looked like the side of a box of Thomas' English muffins. No one cared a wit.

• George was fond of long distance carriage driving. He once drove a coach from the Knickerbocker club in Manhattan to Saratoga, stopping along the way at his good friend's house in Tarrytown, David Rockefeller. 

Mr. Rockefeller is still with us, so we wonder if he'll be making the trip to pay his respects to his carriage-loving friend.

• A back injury eventually made it impossible for Mr. Weymouth to keep driving a horse-drawn coach. He got around using crutches from the Civil War, 

Old money used old wood.

Nowhere in the obituary is Mr. Weymouth described as holding a job of any kind. He did use his money and influence to amass a great deal of property as a conservation effort to keep it from being developed. He befriended Andrew Wyeth and learned to paint, even painting a portrait of Prince Philip.

Other words that Mr. Grimes uses, as well as quotes from other sources, close out the complete picture of Mr. Weymouth.

bon vivant...

toff of the old school...

amiable dilettante...

amusing swell...

flamboyant eccentric...

The closing quote Mr. Grimes uses to sum up Mr. Weymouth, "No one has had more fun out of life than I have,"  has a way of making you happy for the guy, and perhaps just a bit envious. Given a high-end lifestyle, Mr. Weymouth didn't outlive his money.

As I get even older, I want to be just like George.

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