Epilogue to this post: After my wife and I finished our lunch at the New Moon Cafe last week with Hilary Hodge and her wife, Angelica, one of our neighbors Larry Kaufman came up to us in the parking lot and said hello. We greeted him, and I later joked to my wife that Kaufman was the one who recently had written an “out-of-left-field” letter to The Union suggesting — of all conceivable topics — an “in-depth article about (George Boardman) — his background and writing experience. I am sure all his readers would enjoy learning more about your talented columnist.”
Huh? Here’s yet another anecdote that could be used to illustrate George’s total ignorance, to go along with his error-prone prose, or what he confesses has been some “sloppy note taking.” No kidding!
On his blog, George refers to “Gold Dust Twins” as an all-purpose cleansing agent in the ‘1890s — an arcane reference, to be sure. In fact, dredging it up, including a mention of “racial stereotypes of the times,” reflects more on where George’s mind is at.
For the rest of us, Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “gold dust twins” as “a pair of inseparable and indefatigable workers.” In our case, this is what my dad meant when he referred to my wife and I as the “gold dust twins” during our world travels as newlyweds. He was not making a racist reference.
George glosses over that “gold dust twins” is a sobriquet that is often used to describe two talented individuals working closely together for a common goal, including sports (ironically a subject he claims to master).
For example, the Globe sportswriter Peter Gammons referred to Fred Lynn and Jim Rice of the Boston Red Sox as the “Gold Dust Twins.” “There will never be another season like ’75, when the Gold Dust Twins (so named by then-Globe beat reporter Peter Gammons) took over the Boston baseball scene and pushed the Sox all the way to the seventh game of the World Series,” as the Globe reported in 2014. More references are here.
Of course, George Boardman is no Peter Gammons — and never will be. George’s journalistic claim to fame is void of an experience at a big-metro daily newspaper such as the Globe or San Francisco Chronicle; rather it is is minor league journalism outfits, like the San Mateo County Times, which is no longer even published. And public relations.
For George’s edification, here are some other examples of using the “Gold Dust Twins” as a nickname, as Wikipedia reminds us:
- Gus Mortson and Jim Thomson, Canadian hockey (1940s and early 1950s).
- Royal Copeland and Joe Krol, Canadian football (1940s and early 1950s).[
- Lew Hoad and Ken Rosewall, tennis (1950s).
- Donny Anderson and Jim Grabowski, NFL football with the Green Bay Packers (1960s).
- Fred Lynn and Jim Rice, Boston Red Sox baseball (1970s).
George Boardman “journalism”: You can’t make this stuff up! I can only imagine how that “profile” suggested by Larry Kaufman would read. Perhaps it could be a standing feature: “On the Lido Deck with George Boardman!”
Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report 
I asked George to correct an egregious error on his blog post that derided our business. And he promptly deleted the request in moderation. What hubris! Talk about a need to “clean the swamp” at The Union! lol.
He follows this up this week with his this is not racism piece. I recommend seeing I Am Not Your Negro showing at the Magic Theatre this week.
Well said.