 Things got off to a rough start. John asked Ben a softball question he couldn't answer. Then another. He couldn't remember anything about his service in the Navy during World War II, his time in Paris as a reporter after the war, his tenure at the Post. Poor John was struggling. We looked at each other in alarm. John began to answer the questions he was asking Ben. But at one point he asked Ben something he himself didn't know the answer to. Ben looked stricken.