Last night American Masters focused on Dick Van Dyke. There were three men on television that I revered growing up: Jack Benny, Steve Allen, and Dick Van Dyke. The first two I wanted to be like, funny and smart, the last I wanted to be. I wasn’t drawn to Van Dyke’s physical comedy – even then I was more attracted to words – but I dreamed of someday having his TV life, not just the beautiful wife but his job as a writer with wisecracking office mates. And, marrying my Polish girlfriend and spending most of my career in the features department of a daily newspaper, I got pretty close to it.
