WALT KELLY

The cartoonist best known for creating Pogo spent a lot of time at the Herald Tribune, one of the newspapers his strip ran in and where Kelly had many drinking pals. He was huge man with lots of white hair, a big cigar always in clamped his mouth, never without his a trademark silver-tipped walking cane. I was a lowly copyboy, but over time he had come to know my name and never failed to greet with warmly. 
     One day I was visiting a friend on one of the high floors of the Simon and Schuster building (S&S published Pogo). Kelly was on the same down elevator, along with several other passengers. Though we'd never before seen each other outside the newspaper city room, I expected his usual hearty "Hiya, Andy" when I greeted him. He didn't say a word, and I felt terribly embarrassed. But as soon as we exited into the lobby, Kelly immediately walked over to an ash receptacle and spit out a huge brown glob. Then he turned to me and boomed, "How're ya doing, kid. Sorry I couldn't talk.