(Click to enlarge)
John Updike has died after a struggle with lung cancer, his publisher Alfred Knopf reports, at the age of 76. I’ll write more on this, something different from the obituaries, soon enough, but will start with this story.
Updike came to Butler University to read during my freshman year, and his talk fell on my birthday. I was sitting in the front row for his reading, so I didn’t have to wait long to get a couple books autographed.
“Today’s my birthday,” I said.
“That’s great, how old are you?” he asked as he inscribed, “Happy birthday” in one book.
“Nineteen.”
He smiled and said, “That’s a good age to be.”
I’m still learning how right he was about that, and so many other things.