I’ve had dinner with her.

It was not a date. I was headed for a nightclub that was inside a Boston restaurant. En route to the nightclub part of the establishment, I passed by a large dinner party comprising people who know me. They asked me to join them, so I did. I was seated opposite a charming and vivacious lady who was a good conversationalist. I thought, “She looks a lot like Dana Delaney.” Of course I wasn’t going to put her on the spot in front of the whole party, but, when the table broke up, I asked her, and she confirmed her identity! She was so nice, so down to earth and real. I asked her kinda shyly, “Miss, are you Dana Delaney?”—and I NEVER do “shy.” She confirmed her identity and tolerated me telling her how much I’d loved China Beach. No, of course I didn’t ask for an autograph or a selfie. She and I had met as peers. I’ve also met Nicholas Cage, Prince, The Talking Heads and Queen, and they—every one—could not have been more humble and hospitable.

Apropos humility: My favorite friend from college came to Harvard to do her Doctorate. She invited me to a party to meet her favorite professor. He was a very dignified gentleman. When my friend introduced us, he clicked his heels lightly, bent slightly forward at the waist and quietly said, “My name is Bloch.”

I later did some research on Professor Block. The man has won a fucking Nobel Prize. He’s one of Harvard’s Laureates. Lesson in all of this: the more truly accomplished someone is, the less s/he toots her/his own horn.