Remembering David E.

UNLIT ARTURO FUENTE in hand, I scanned my home library’s shelves for something to peruse while enjoying an afternoon cigar.

- Arthur St. Antoine

I passed over the NASA section (“You have more space books than I do!” said friend and Apollo 7 astronaut Walt Cunningham when he came over for dinner one night), eased by the classics, then my eyes landed on a tome I hadn’t picked up in a long while: “Thus Spake David E.,” a collection of columns from the man who founded this magazine some 32 years ago. I opened the book to the title page and found an inscription: “Arthur, I am always available to help you find your way around strange cities. Cogito ergo zoom! —David E. 9/20/99.” I took the book to the balcony, lit my cigar, and drifted back through the smoke.