The Rise and Fall of the Noman Empire

Nome (photo: Sir Mildred Pierce)

Edward Gibbon’s The Rise and Fall of the Noman Empire has become a classic. The famous historian dealt with Noman architecture and ruins along with emperors and consuls who maintained the rule of law throughout the far flung colonies. There fisherman who were Noman gladiators met in frozen colosseums where they struggled to subdue their catch through holes in the ice. It's been said that Ernest Hemingway got the idea for The Old Man and the Sea when he and other writers left Paris for Nome--where they truly became "The Lost Generation." Those were the days when Nome was a frosty habitat even in the summer months and you had to wear a coat in the Caracalla Baths which were housed in Igloos. That's where the expression "when in Nome, do like the Nomans," derives from. It was in Nome that the comic play, A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, was conceived. It was also where Zero Mostel earned his famous nickname, (he was born "Knut," but it never got above zero in Nome).

read "The Promiscuous and the Protean" by Francis Levy, The East Hampton Star

and listen to "A Funny Thing Happened on theWay to the Forum" with Zero Mostel