bencalpink

Norm! You once recalled a story about when you were a very shy and very young boy and had to take your dad's friend (who was blind) to a store. The blind friend requested that you describe the world around him, what the grass was like, the street lights, et cetera. The friend was happy and loved that you were describing such things to him. You said for the first time this made you look outward at the world, not inward, and that you fell into a kind of hysteria, laughing uncontrollably. Another time you were talking to a homeless guy who was saying he knew John D. Rockefeller, was at John D. Rockefeller's funeral and all this insane stuff, and again you fell deep into laughter.

I had a similar experience when I was a shy kid and stole a bag of candy from a drugstore. My mom found out and made me return it, and I couldn't stop laughing at the idea of bringing it back up to someone who worked there. On the way back I was in tears from laughing so much, my mom was actually a little worried. I had laughed so much it hurt, it was a complete hysteria. I remember thinking about how I took this candy from someone else (in a way) and it wasn't for me, this world has other people who see and want things too. For whatever reason my reaction to that was to laugh, and in addition to being less self-absorbed and nervous, I found a lot of everyday things to be funny from that point on.

My question is, do those memories of the blind friend and homeless man still mean something to you? And do you think they have had an effect on the way you think about things now? I felt a kinship when I heard you tell those stories, they meant a lot to me and I wanted you to know that.

• Thank you

Thanks Norm. It was a weird experience that I now look back on as very good to me, glad to see you feel similarly.

And thank you for calling me a raconteur! High praise from the king of anecdotes!