David Halberstam, another great reporter at the gray lady, has died and followed the route of the legendary R.W. Apple Jr. The writer was a real man. He never apologized for his friends. His friendship lifted many people who needed lifting.
Scott Simon, a man who counted Halberstam as a friend recounted this episode in El Salvador:
Once I told David about a colonel in El Salvador who awarded me a sour smile when I asked what he thought was an impertinent question. "Who do you think you are," the colonel asked. "David Halberstam?" David laughed and said, "My boy, as you travel around the world, I think you will find my name is 'horse's ass' in many languages."
A wise editor told me that if you don't offend someone along the way, you obviously are not doing the job.
Horse's ass. A new badge of honor.