Interview with writer Robert W. Stock

Writer Robert W. Stock chats with me today about his memoir, Me and The Times: My wild ride from elevator operator to New York Times editor, columnist, and change agent (1967-97).

cover for Me and The Times: My wild ride from elevator operator to New York Times editor, columnist, and change agent (1967-97)

Bio:
Born in 1929 in Bridgeport CT. A husband and father at age 19. By chance, hired by a weekly paper, which led to post of reporter/editor for local daily paper. In 1955, hired as publicist by aviation company and then by U.S. oil industry. Became an editor on the New York Times Magazine in 1967. Over the next three decades, edited seven different Sunday sections and created a column in the daily paper. After retirement from The Times, ghostwriter of biographies and management books, wrote magazine stories and online essays. On the personal side, divorced and remarried; two children, one lost to cancer.

Welcome, Robert. Please tell us about your current release.
On one level, the book is an intimate, unvarnished look at the making of the Sunday sections of The Times in their pre-internet heyday, back when they shaped the country’s political and cultural conversation. In the memoir, I describe my odyssey among seven of those sections, innovating and troublemaking all the way – getting the paper sued for $1 million, publishing articles that sent the publisher up the wall.

On another level, the book is a long series of stories told in 57 chapters, from the comic to the tragic. A Hopi tribal chairman and a Greek archaeologist introduce me to their lost worlds. Rod Laver challenges me to a tennis match. I share a sail with music mogul Ahmet Ertegun, a Mafia-spiced brunch with Jerry Orbach, an embarrassing moment with Jacqueline Kennedy.

From my early days as a teenage air raid bicycle messenger… to my seat at the captain’s table on the SS France…to my belated sowing of wild oats at age 45…to my stopping the presses at The New York Times…my book offers a fresh perspective on a not-that-long-ago era and industry that were, in so many ways, very different from the now.

What inspired you to write this book?
I decided that I had a story to tell that might make an appealing book. Most memoirs by journalists are by daily reporters who write about the wars and floods, etc., they have covered. My story would be about the seldom-covered Sunday sections – the people, the conflicts, the laughter.

Excerpt from Me and the Times:
During a stay in Hong Kong, Caryl and I happened upon a restaurant that made a Chinese doctor available for patrons who wanted/needed his guidance in selecting their food. It sounded like fun, and I called for a reservation for the next night.

The restaurant was bright and airy, and we were soon seated in a comfortable booth. We told the waiter we wanted the doctor’s advice. He turned out to be a portly, businesslike gentleman dressed all in white. He gazed into our eyes, examined our tongues, and gave the waiter a food order based upon his diagnoses: Caryl had a cold; I had an upset stomach. The doctor addressed us in English and the waiter in Chinese.

Our food was presented with a flourish. Caryl’s dish: a bland soup. Mine: two nicely browned caterpillars, each about three inches long, slightly curled, and nestled together.

We started to laugh, and we couldn’t stop. We honked and we spluttered. We were the only non-Asians in the restaurant, and it was a very quiet place—except for us. Mortified, we slipped lower and lower in our seats, as though we might disappear into the carpet. And still we laughed, the tears running down our faces.

When we were at last able to control ourselves, Caryl asked if I intended to eat my meal. I took that to be a challenge. I bit into one of the caterpillars. It was crunchy, the flavor a bit nutty. I assured Caryl that it tasted like chicken, but that was a joke. I managed to finish one of the creatures and stopped there.

We totted up the results of the Chinese doctor’s ministrations as we left the restaurant. Caryl’s cold remained intact. My stomach upset had not been cured. In fact, I had a new bellyache—from too much laughter.

What exciting project are you working on next?
I’m planning to return to fiction. Over the years, I have written short stories and, with a friend, a novel. They were not publishable. I would like to find out whether I can do better, starting with a short story.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
As the son of a high school English teacher, who never let me get away with a spoken or written grammatical error, I always wrote well as a student, but I never considered writing in general, or journalism, as a career. I first considered myself a professional writer when I, by chance, became one on that weekly paper.

Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
When I have a writing project, I work on it full tilt until done. If it’s a self-generated project, I take it easy on myself, essentially working half a day and allowing for a full reading of The Times, a Wordle, and some practicing on my clarinet.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I don’t know how interesting it is, but I write as it emerges from my head…which is to say, my writing includes more than its share of recondite language.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I don’t remember any particular desire. I was determined not to be a lawyer because so many of my male relatives were lawyers and they did not sound very enthusiastic about their work.

Anything else you’d like to share with the readers?
In case your readers are interested in learning more about Me and The Times, it can be found online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other bookstore sites.

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