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Were they both members of your fraternity?

Neither was. I'll tell you how I met Dick Simon. He was in the college; I was in journalism. I soon had discovered that if I played my cards right, I could get two degrees at the same time--a B.Lit. at journalism, and a B.A. at the college-- without doing too much work. This required manipulating, but that I thought added to the fun. And as the columnist of the paper, I was beginning to be a big shot.

I'll interrupt for a minute. Did you write your column at home?

Yes. It was called “The Stroller.” It was not a gossip column. There were little pieces about personalities on the campus.

Did you ever take up public issues?

Oh, sure. We had fights over the mayor of New York and the dismal subway service and demanding that 116th Street be made an express station--that kind of stuff.

Would people ever approach you and say, “Why don't you take up this cause?" or “I like what you did.”

Sure! “The Stroller” column was lively. It was read!