He thought he was the only one for whom ordering a deli sandwich and wrestling an alligator held equal levels of terror. It is one of the reasons I always think of him as the bravest man I know—for who can guess what feats of valor he has overcome simply to arrive at your door? To get here, for instance, he has lost his first love, caused the early landing of an airplane, flooded an architectural treasure, and crossed the Mississippi with a pug.
