Miscenllaneous

Respect

Maybe it was a truck ad on TV that triggered these thoughts.  My mind went back to the days when I was a freelance racing photojournalist.  As such, I had free access to the press room and I used it.  Among other things, to network.  Jon Asher, a superlative photographer, much better than I could ever hope to be, Jim Short (Shorts) who was the Riverside Press Enterprise star racing writer, Howard Koby who taught me Grand Prix racing and high-speed pan shots.  But there was one writer that we all treaded lightly around and that was the marvelous Shav Glick, LA Times sports writer. 

He was a short, rather tubby grey-haired man, and he nailed it with every column he wrote.  Such was the respect that was given him that none of us ever smoked in the press room when he was working in it.  Why?  He was running on one lung and I truly forget what happened to the other. .  He retired from sports writing when he was 85 and succumbed to melanoma age 87 in 2007.

Normally writers and photographers never hesitated to push their way into anything; print reporters  crowding to the front when a driver was being interviewed,  photographers elbowing their way in to your shooting spot ... but we all respected Shav.  That's just how good he was. 

And that's also how we showed respect, a simple courtesy that he never asked for, never expected, never acknowledged.  Respect is a quality that is so rarely seen these days as to be on the endangered emotions list.  I miss it.

Separated at Birth?

There are two popular authors that make me wonder if they aren't the same man.  You take a look at David Baldacci and Lee Child and tell me I'm wrong. 

David Baldacci, born 8-5-60 (happy belated birthday) now age 60.  He and wife Michelle married in 1990.

Lee Child, real name James Grant, was born 10-29-62 and is 55 and 6 ft. 4 in.  He and wife Jane were married in 1975. 

Both write action intrigue books.  Both are blue eyed blondes with a clean-cut boned face. 

Both have to be the same person.  Ages in the spy world are so easy to change...