Just moments ago, Nora Ephron passed away. She was one of the truly great writers of the last part of the 20th century. And a helluva director.
Nora was incredibly kind to me a number of times when I asked her to take a look at my writing... She had been a "copy girl" for Dick Schaap, back when Dick was the City Editor of the Herald Tribune (and writing under him were Tom Wolfe, Jimmy Breslin and Gail Sheehy—yup, you read that right)... and since she knew how close Dick and I were, she went more than out of her way... giving me wonderfully savage notes.
I remember one time she stopped and said, "I'm sorry to rip this apart." And I replied, "Are you kidding me? Please, keep ripping!" (I really did say it with an exclamation point.) I mean, frickin' Nora Ephron was giving me great advice. And—except for that one moment—she was not at all worried about my feelings, just deeply, honestly, involved in my writing.
Since then, I've thought about Nora every time I've sat down to write a long piece, wondering what she would say, not about the finished product but about the piece as it was being crafted. And I sent her every story after it was written.
I'm sure I'll continue to think about Nora every time I attempt to craft a piece that really means something to me. Just as I always think about Dick.
I just can't send the finished pieces to them any more.
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Below is a link to Nora's AMAZING COMMENCEMENT speech that she gave to the graduating class at Wellesly in 1996. It ranks right up there with Steve Jobs commencement address. (Honest.) In fact, I think it should be assigned reading for every boy and girl entering High School. Especially the girls.
She was Peggy Olsen of "Mad Men."