“CELEBRITY IS A MASK THAT EATS INTO THE FACE.”

“CELEBRITY IS A MASK THAT EATS INTO THE FACE.” The obituary for John Updike in the Financial Times quotes Updike as saying that. In the sixties I had friends who found themselves sitting next to Updike at a Harvard football game. They admired Updike enormously just as I did and do. They decided not to acknowledge that they recognized him and reported that the anonymous Updike was a pleasant person to watch a game with. Reading the quote confirms they made the right decision. Mary Jane and I found ourselves in an elevator with Ralph Nader in the seventies and resisted the temptation to say anything to him. Again, given how private he seems to be, I have never regretted the decision.