September 15, 2011
It’s fairly remarkable that with as much traveling as I do, I have seen relatively few celebrities. Perhaps that is because most of the stars now travel by private plane. I have met some minor celebrities (see the blog post on “Seatmates” from Oct 7, 2010). Today, en route from SFO to Detroit, I met the former US Secretary of Labor (1993-1997), Robert Reich. I immediately noticed him in the boarding line because he is a dwarf. I knew he had a skeletal dysplasia back in the days of the Clinton cabinet, but I was never sure which one. Seeing him today I would guess that he has multiple epiphyseal dysplasia, as he is about four and a half feet tall and normally proportioned. I gathered up the courage to say hello to him and thank him for his service to our country. He has that rich and resonant voice that you’ve heard in his National Public Radio commentaries. I asked him what he was doing now, and he replied that he was teaching at UC Berkeley and loving it. He told me that he had gone there in the 60s and [I quote here] “became intoxicated with the smell of eucalyptus, marijuana, and tear gas.”
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