At Home with Nora Ephron

There is no doubt in my mind that Nora Ephron is beyond words amazing. I want to be her. Or just be her friend. Or have her be a cool auntie of mine. Either way, I just read this interview with her in the NYT and I felt an urge to go knock on her door and have her teach me how to play craps.

Some prize excerpts:

Worst Thing About New York: Bicycle messengers. They scare me. Sometimes, when I am not worrying about other forms of death, I am certain that I am going to be run over by a bicycle messenger.

Hobby: I play craps. About 900 years ago, when I was a columnist at Esquire, they had a sales conference in Paradise Island, the Bahamas, and someone taught me. It is such a great game. I will teach almost anyone how to play craps at a moment’s notice.

Neck Guards: I have always loved scarves, because in New York you have to wear them to keep your neck warm. Then, as you get older, you need to keep your neck shielded from public view.

Always in Fridge: Are you kidding? If you open our refrigerator, you have to close the door to keep things from falling out. I buy more food than the two of us can eat. Then I freeze it.

Obsolete Thing She Won’t Toss: A collection of teacups that I once had a place for, but now I don’t really. They are too gorgeous to be used, and they hold barely any tea, I’d like to add. So they are just in a little cupboard, and it is very sad.

Evening Routine: Around 6 o’clock we’d figure what we want for dinner. It is very ordinary. I cook dinner. We eat it. Nick does the dishes. It is a fantastic division of labor. Then we might watch something on TV and read. Or go back to work. Bedtime would be midnight.