Longevity at this ol' paper enables me to sometimes reconnect with the fascinating folks I have profiled in decades past.
This happened recently when Joe Barna called me. I had met him 30 years ago when he first called to report he and his Keeshond dog, Zonker, liked to ride the Wildcat roller coaster at Lake Compounce Amusement Park in Bristol.
Naturally I took him up on his offer to go for a ride. We spent a pleasant day out there; I had never before seen a dog ride a coaster. And he loved it, or at least so it seemed by his buoyant expression and body language.
Well, Zonker is gone. I also wrote his obituary, in 1987. He was 14 and the heat just got to him on a summer's day.
Barna has a new Keeshond now named Inu (which means dog in Japanese). This one doesn't ride coasters, but that's OK.
You already know this if you read my column last Sunday. Barna called me to let me know he is writing a book about Zonker. He also surprised me when we got together for our recent interview by telling me he believes he was the first person in the U.S. to see Sputnik, the Russian satellite, in October 1957 in his backyard in Vermont.
Who knows? Maybe it's true. Barna did insist he has made a lifelong habit of never lying just so that now, when he finally has started to talk about this in public, people might believe him.
Anyway, the purpose of this blog is to note that the many people I have profiled through the years should feel free to reconnect with me, especially if they have a follow-up idea. It was a kick to see the Barna of age 60, after first seeing him when he was 30. Guess what, I'm 30 years older too. It happens.
I also wanted to include one of the funny and interesting things Barna told me last week, which I couldn't find room for in the column. He said he has tried to live his life by keeping in mind a book he saw long ago: "Damn Everything but the Circus." He said the point of the book is this: "Damn everything that's dull, gray and lifeless!"
I agree: that's a pretty good way to approach life.