Driving with Dave





So we're someplace in southern Illinois or maybe it was Iowa or even Nebraska and we're going through a bunch of little towns and we're talking about Dave's family and daughters and things get a little emotional and suddenly he's talking about the father of his grandchild and how he died and it's really a moving little story that will be great in the book.

And I realize that, so I check the digital recorder to make sure it's working and it is, which is always good.

Then I look up and realize we're moving pretty fast - really fast as a matter of fact - faster than even I like to drive and I'm the world record holder for driving from NYC to Iowa City. And I look over at Dave and he's in the middle of the story and very, very emotional and it is a great story that's getting better with every word - and with every word he pushes down on the gas pedal a little harder.

Houses are flying by in a blur and we whip past an F-15 that's just lit his afterburners. So I think to myself, should I mention that we're about to break the speed barrier, break his concentration and risk losing this really good stuff for the book, or should I just go with it? Then I realize that dying in a Towncar that's traveling at light speed would make for a pretty tight epilogue so I keep my mouth shut and hold the recorder closer to his face.

It's a good book. I really had nothing to do with what's good in it. Check it out.