long live howard zinn

he died today. i met him when he came to speak at northwestern. we had dinner, and he less than half-jokingly accepted my offer to buy him a drink, just before he was to speak. the crowd was packed into one of the school's bigger auditoriums. he talked about how war breeds terrorism and post-9/11 atmospheres; this was probably in 2002. as we were walking toward the auditorium, I asked if he was fairly busy these days. yes, he said with a laugh, war is good for business.

it's his cheeriness that i remember, as i never read too much of what he wrote. he also loved him some dunkin donuts coffee, like a true man of the people. rip