Letter: Farewell to a great newspaperman
Michael McGrady, an award-winning columnist for Newsday who was the architect behind one of the greatest literary hoaxes of all time -- the best-selling novel "Naked Came the Stranger" -- died in Shelton, Wash. He was 78. Credit: Newsday
I was saddened to read that my old friend, Mike McGrady, died ["The stuff that spoofs are made of," News, May 16]. He was not only a friend but a mentor. Though younger than I was, he guided me at Newsday when I started writing occasional pieces for the weekend magazine.
They don't make them like that anymore, and we are the poorer for it. But I guess there is a time and a season for everything, and while I would have loved to see him trash the bad guys on Wall Street and in the swamp of politics, I know that his gifts belonged to that other time when the quintessential newspaperman smoked a cigar, drank whiskey, played in poker games (some at our house) and was by nature a liberal.
So we have to find our place the best we can in this digital age, without the likes of him. We have to hope that some of what he brought to the world of newspapers will remain -- newly crafted for this time -- and we will not fail to keep his spirit and those of other good guys alive.
Silvia Tennenbaum, Huntington
