'Twas a strange day getting here. Remind me when I have time to tell you about the guy on the plane who kept getting on and off and on and off before takeoff, certain he was on the right flight, then the wrong flight, then the right flight, then the wrong flight…
And there was also the guy at the Miami Airport who kept coming up to me, urging me for my sake to accept Jesus Christ as my personal savior. If you respect your religious beliefs, you shouldn't be trying to sell them the same way twelve-year-old boys sell chocolate bars outside a mall.
There were other impediments but I made it in time to hook up with my friend-editor (he's a hyphenate) Charlie Kochman and catch Joe Biden being interviewed in a hall full of people who'd vote for him in a second for president. He seemed like a nice, smart man and in-person, he looks even more like McLean Stevenson than he does on television. For a moment there, I thought I was at a Hello, Larry! taping. I was impressed that he didn't demagogue (I think that's become a verb), didn't demonize the opposition…much, and didn't appeal to the worst fears/hates of his audience. There were some in that room waiting to be mined and he didn't go there.
As you might expect, he said nothing about a 2020 presidential bid and I fear he may be too old for that. Then again, I voted for Bernie Sanders and would probably do so again. Biden is here at the Miami Book Fair talking about his book, Promise Me, Dad, which is about a lot of things but mainly about the death of his son Beau.
The former Vice-President said some things about losing a loved one to cancer which resonated with me, having not-so-long-ago lost a very loved one to cancer. I can't think of too many politicians who have had the eloquence or even the interest in talking about a subject like that. There are no votes in it.
Tomorrow — Sunday — I'm doing a batch of interviews, then at 2 PM local time (Eastern) I'm doing an one-hour event called "Kirby's Moral Universe" about the underlying themes and beliefs that underscored the work of Jack Kirby. I have been told that Book TV will be covering the discussion and airing it on C-Span2, perhaps even live.
I find this real hard to believe and expect to find out tomorrow that it is not so; that the time is instead going to a noted Peruvian chef who has authored the definitive book on how to make creme brulee out of quinoa. Then again, most of what I see on C-Span is legislators making speeches to empty rooms so maybe I'll fit right in. Good night.