Shelby Foote R.I.P.
Friday, July 29, 2005
Dan Huntley of the Knight-Ridder newspapers writes:
Foote was one of the few celebrities I ever met who actually listened to the people he met, instead of expounding upon his own illustrious past. My litmus test to determine if big shots are wise is–do more words go in their ears than come out of their mouths? Foote had a 2 to 1 ratio.
“Now tell me your name, son.”
“Tell me where your people are from.”
…Foote was a gracious gentleman with a humorous élan that he wore as casually as his trademark seersucker suits–permanently wrinkled in the moist Delta heat. He was a literate and worldly grandfather who used both hands to shake your one…
