A Nobody Becomes a Somebody
Reflections: Norman Mailer at 100, ed. Gerald R. Lucas and Maggie McKinley (The Norman Mailer Society, 2023), p. 89; transcribed from the final interior PDF
From Reflections: Norman Mailer at 100 (The Norman Mailer Society, 2023), p. 89.
In July of 1990, I was a speaker at Harvard University at an International Hemingway Conference. Norman was the keynote speaker and he gave a resounding performance prancing across the stage, not unlike Mick Jagger on a giant concert platform. That evening there was a large reception. I was standing alone when a casual acquaintance asked me if I would like to meet Jackie Onassis. She was in a small group of people about 50 feet away. We approached Jackie and soon the individuals surrounding Jackie dispersed. My friend introduced me to Jackie by my full name (I was not wearing a name tag). Jackie correctly repeated my full name, shook my hand, and my friend soon departed.
The two of us made small talk and then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Norman approach us with a tall, beautiful woman, Norris Church Mailer. Norman hugged Jackie and then she enthusiastically introduced me, accurately pronouncing my uncommon surname. Norman clearly thought that Jackie and I were connected. He gripped hard my right hand and squeezed my right arm above the elbow with his free hand, beaming with a broad grin. The intensity of the moment transformed me. A nobody became a somebody, if only for a fleeting moment.
Phillip Sipiora