June 19, 2009

In Which a Young Man Gets to Hang out with PJ O’Rourke

PJ O’Rourke came into town the other  night and I was lucky enough to be able to hang out with him for 5 or 6 hours.  Three highlights:

  • We went to a booksigning where he took questions.  Someone asked what he thought of Sarah Palin.  His response: “I like Sarah Palin.  I also like Earth, Wind and Fire.  But I’m not going to elect them President.”
  • Over cheeseburgers at Boston Blackies, he told some great stories from his National Lampoon days, and dished on some of the names- Matty Simmons, Henry Beard, Doug Kenney, Rob Hoffman, Tony Hendra, John Hughes, Michael O’Donoghue, etc.
  • When we got back to the studio, I gave him a few vintage (1978) issues of National Lampoon to sign.  Instead of signing them and handing them back, he sat down and flipped through them for about 10 minutes, pointing out what was good and bad with each issue (he was editor-in-chief for both issues).