Mandolin wizard, Punch Brothers leader and lifelong Chicago Cubbies fan Chris Thile has been chosen to receive one of America’s top honors – the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. Twenty three were given out today for outstanding contributions to Science, Medicine, and the Arts. The prestigious award extends for five years with a no strings yearly stipend of 100,000 dollars. Initially Chris was dubious about the strange phone calls. According to AP sources,
“Thile ignored the incessant phone calls from the foundation at first, thinking they were election-year robocalls. Then he received an ominous message: “Don’t tell anyone about this call.”
His tour manager searched for the number online and told him, “It appears to be from something called the MacArthur Foundation.” It was a name Thile recognized.
“I think I must have turned white,” he said. “I’ve never felt so internally warm. My heart was racing. All of a sudden, I felt very askew physically. I was trying to catch my breath. … I thought, ‘Oh my God, did I win a MacArthur?”
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Yes, Mr Thile and you damn well deserve it.
