February 10, 2013

Palmer died yesterday.

Dinner last night at Avenue M with the Ks. It was accidental, our having met in the parking lot and one thing leading to another. Their handsome eight year old is a perfect gentleman, which is, when one has seen it for a while, a little disconcerting. He is so under constant prompting from his mother, so maybe at other times he reverts to a more natural state. The kid at the next table was a stark contrast, candid and smiling and ebullient. The movie Titanic, the Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Wagner version, had been playing, and when it was over the kid, toy jet in hand, came to the table and told DJ and me the story. The physical fact of boats seemed to be what fascinated him most. What I liked was the proof that, having heard the story, one must tell the story.