✍️ The Writer Who Knew Too Much

A story about losing my nerve among the literary ghosts around the Spanish Steps

John Updike (The Marginalian)

I don’t rattle easily. I’ve covered wars, jumped out of airplanes. I’ve interviewed presidents, been blessed by a pope, attended parties with Hollywood celebrities. Then there was the afternoon when I spotted John Updike having lunch near the Spanish Steps.

He was seated at an outdoor table with a woman in her 50s. Short sand…