It was a “one Dram below par” moment, a time when the worldview of Dr McClaren seemed apt.

It was Dr McClaren who declared, “It is a well known medical fact that some men are born at least one dram below par,” speaking of the schoolmaster George Campbell in the 1949 comedy film “Whisky Galore!” The schoolmaster is a man who has lived his life in Fear of a domineering mother, particularly in fear of her disapproval of intoxicating liquor. In the story, the shipwreck of a freighter carrying 50,000 …